CHAPTER15
As they drovethrough Granite Falls and toward their houses on the outskirts of town, Gillian’s phone rang. She looked at the display and frowned.
“What is it?” Nick asked.
“A number I don’t recognize.” She accepted the call. “Hello?”
“Hey, babe,” Paul’s voice came through the line. “Where are you?”
Her heart slammed against her chest. “Paul?” She looked up at Nick with widened eyes.
“Who else? I’m getting out and need you to come get me.”
“Getting out?” The edges of her vision darkened as the cab of the truck suddenly shrunk.
“Yeah, it was all a huge mistake. They had to let me go. Can you believe what they put me through? Wait till my lawyers get done with them.”
“I’m sorry, Paul, but I can’t come get you—”
“Why the hell not?” he asked, his voice low and quiet.
“I’ve been in an accident. I’m in North Carolina with my parents until I recover.”
“With your parents or your old boyfriend?”
Her hand started to shake, and her throat closed up. “Please don’t call me again.”
“Listen, you bitch. I know exactly what you’ve been up to. You will do what I say, and you’ll do it right now.”
She disconnected the call, powered off her phone, and dropped it in her purse. “I can’t go back home.”
Nick pulled the truck over to the side of the road and turned off the engine. “What’s going on?”
“It’s my husband. He’s out. He’s been watching me.” Panic filled her, stealing her breath. “He knows about you.”
“Do you think he knows about the money?”
The thought scared her so much, she couldn’t breathe. She started to gasp, her heart thundering in her chest. She would never get away from him. She was so certain he’d stay in jail, that she’d finally be free…
“How can I help you?” Nick said, his voice a life raft in a turbulent sea.
“I don’t know. I thought I was safe. That he’d go to prison for a long time. How did he get out?”
“I don’t know, but I won’t let him get to you. I promise.”
She shook her head. She had no idea what Paul was capable of, but she was fairly certain no one would be able to protect her. Not even Nick. After a few minutes, her thoughts seemed to settle. “My husband is a money launderer dealing with some very dangerous people. If the FBI couldn’t stop him, then no one can. There is nothing I can do.”
His eyes widened with shock. “You can’t go back to him.”
“I can’t stay here either. He knows where I am.” She thought of her parents.
He brushed the tears from her cheek. “You can handle this.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. The Gillian I know is able to leap tall boulders in a single bound, fly through the air on a rope swing, and pierce people’s eardrums with the sound of her singing. You’re Supergirl,” he said, trying to make her smile, trying to remind her of who she’d been in her youth, so wild, so happy.
She chuckled softly at his words. “Who was that girl?”