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“I want to take a couple of days to try to figure out what to do next,” Vanessa said. “Let the stuff with Kyle Hawthorne go. I can ask around The Club and see what I can find out, but I do not want you to get in trouble.”

Ruby was quiet for a moment. “All right. I do need to spend more time on this report I’m writing. I’ve started to think about maybe applying to some colleges.”

That was the best news she’d heard in a long time. When they’d first met, Ruby had told her there wasn’t a reason to go to college. She knew everything she needed to know, and all she’d cared about was getting out of the house. The one thing her parents had done right was start a college fund, but at that point Ruby had planned to use it to move out.

“I’m glad to hear that.” She took a deep breath, feeling better about the situation. She needed a couple of days to reflect and maybe change direction. Tessa had invited her and Michael to dinner next weekend. Kyle lived with her and David. Maybe she could even talk to the man and try to ascertain if her sister had any reason to be afraid of him.

Or she had the wrong Master, and she would have to start again.

There was a chiming that told her someone was at the door.

“Ruby, someone’s here. I have to go.”

“I’ll talk to you later.” The line went dead.

Vanessa strode across the living room to the entryway. She glanced at the display on the security system. Michael had a state-of-the-art system, with cameras all along the hallway.

Chelsea Weston stood outside along with three kids, and she did not look like she was having a good day. She held a baby in her arms, a diaper bag slung over her shoulder. Sophy Weston had a backpack emblazoned with a blinged-out unicorn. She wore a set of denim overalls, a purple T-shirt, and sneakers. The toddler boy had on shorts and a T-shirt, but it was inside out. And his shoes were on the wrong feet.

Oh, she should not open that door. She knew that desperate look in Chelsea Weston’s eyes. Vanessa quickly put some things together, a deep protective instinct taking control. That was the look of a woman who was about to foist off a bunch of kids on another unsuspecting woman.

Chelsea pushed the button again, and the chime sounded through the condo. That chime sounded so calm. Like there wasn’t a tornado on the other side of the door.

Chelsea had her hair up in a ponytail and looked very unlike the put-together woman in the picture Michael kept. She cursed under her breath and looked around like someone might show up to help her.

When she turned back to the camera, there was a single tear on Chelsea’s cheek.

And that was when Vanessa gave up the fight. She turned off the alarm and threw the door open.

Chelsea’s eyes went wide with hope. “Hey. Hi. I’m looking for Michael. I’m his…”

“Cousin’s wife. Yes. He’s told me all about you and Simon. I’m so sorry. He’s not here. He went out to lunch with his mom.”

Chelsea’s shoulders drooped as she moved the baby to her other shoulder. “And his brother, apparently. They didn’t tell me they were going out with Michael. They dropped these guys off and said they would be back later.”

Vanessa gave her a smile. “I’m Vanessa. I could call him for you.”

“It would be too late.” Chelsea obviously sized her up. “You’re the new sub. Si told me Michael had taken…I mean met…a new friend. Do you like the world the way it is, Vanessa?”

“Uh, mostly,” she admitted. “There are definitely some things I would change.”

“Mommy needs to save the world. The weird man is back. His name always changes, but Uncle Ian just calls him asshole,” Sophy said.

“Sophy,” her mother hissed. “We don’t talk about Mr. Brown or Mr. Pink or whatever he’s calling himself this week. And you do not repeat anything your Uncle Ian says. And don’t start that fake crying.”

Sophy, who’d looked like she was on the verge of tears, suddenly shrugged. “Uncle Ian’s funny.”

“Uncle Ian is also too far away to help me right now,” Chelsea said with a sniffle. “I never cried before I had kids. I was the best. I was feared throughout cyberspace, and now I’m just a mom who everyone leaves their kids with, and this morning Mr. Brown shows up and he says I’m the only one who can help, and I started to fix the problem, but Jasper likes to climb on everything, and he didn’t mean to push that button.”

Whoa. Okay, so according to Michael, Chelsea was some kind of coding wunderkind, and she’d worked with the government when they needed her help in a time of crisis. Now she wondered which agency.


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