No. I didn’t believe any of it.
My heart rate picked up.He’ll find me.
I buried my face in my hands. What had I done? Desperation clouded my good sense. It was stupid to come to Jill. She’d be the first person Casso would think of once he knew I wasn’t in Texas. If Tony told Casso he was meeting me in San Antonio, Casso would go there first. No telling how long he’d search for me there. Days? Maybe weeks? Not enough time for me to get a new life.
I pressed my hand to my chest, my throat constricting as terror washed over me. Eventually, he’d come to Minnesota. How could I put my best friend in danger?
You idiot.
I needed to get as far away from Jill and this club as possible.
Slipping on my riding boots, I ran through various options to rectify the impossible situation I was in. Not one eased my worries. I had little money. None of my own. Casso had monitored my accounts since I moved in with him. There was nothing I could do he didn’t know about.
I could try to convince Storm to help me get a fake passport and give me some money to flee to another country. Not Canada. Casso had strong ties there.
Mexico was too close for comfort.
Europe was massive. Perhaps I could get lost in the countryside. Dye my hair a different color and chop it off. Hell, shave it off if needed.
Anything to assume a new identity.
Be free.
A sobbed choked me at the thought of living a life I chose. Doing as I pleased seemed like a fantasy. An unreachable, beautiful dream.
You’re such a fool. Cass thinks you’re pregnant with his baby. He’ll die searching under every rock until he finds you.
My arms prickled, knowing the truth. The only way to be free from Casso’s clutches was if he were dead. I couldn’t stay here. I wouldn’t endanger Jill and this group of people who had only been kind to me. I thought of Madeline and her husband Storm. Jill had confirmed they were expecting their first child. I would never endanger a sweet baby.
Zach is here too.
As much as I hated him, I’d never wish him any harm.
I only had one choice: leave the country.
Jill would never go for it, but she didn’t have a say in my life. Nobody did. I just prayed Storm would help me get away. Surely he didn’t want Casso Campbell heading for his club on a rampage.
Casso wouldn’t be kind and reasonable. He’d destroy first and ask questions later.
I inhaled a deep, cleansing breath. My mind was made up on what I needed to do.
After I finished getting dressed, I headed upstairs to seek out Jill. She’d told me the kitchen was at the top of the stairs, and I’d find her there.
I peeked my head around the corner to see who might be in the area. I knew it couldn’t have been Zach. He had his fighting event today.
A shiver worked through me. I didn’t like anything violent. Not sports or movies. I was a peaceful, harmonious kind of person. I only wanted to be happy.
But over the last year, I’d learned what a dark, violent world I lived in. More than ever, I sought to have my own haven, a sublime little nugget of space to call my own, removed from torment, imprisonment, and death. A place I could lie in a patch of wildflowers beneath the sun, absorbing the warmth and tranquility. And at night, I’d get lost in the inky sky filled with stars.
Was that too much to ask for?
It was weird how my imagination took me back to a time when my life was simple and glorious. Filled with love, hope, and dreams. Where I blew the fluff of a dandelion into the breeze and made a wish on a shooting star. A time when the love of a dark-haired boy with the most startling light blue eyes was all I needed.
I didn’t want to remember that time in my life. I’d left it behind after grieving for years. Then I’d put myself back together. Changed the course of my life to prove I didn’t need him to be happy. I’d earned a degree in fashion merchandising while Jill studied fashion design.
After we graduated, she’d altered our plans to open our own boutique, moving to Minnesota to be near her brother. Remembering that day still crushed me. So many hopes and dreams had already been stripped from the future I’d desired. I understood wanting to be near the only family she had left after her parent’s death, but it still hurt.
It took me a couple of years to find my way without Jill. After that blow, I floundered, trying to find a job I loved. Many times, I struggled to open myself up to others, afraid they’d leave me like Zach and Jill. This made me build a fortress around my heart. I’d kept friendships casual. Stuck to a three-date limit.