She pulled the clothes on, not wasting time removing her tight dress. The skirt tucked into the hoodie well enough and was out of the way. She swapped her heels for flats and powered on her burner phone.
Unknown: All set.
Her ride was waiting. Gia replied with a thumbs up and climbed out the bathroom window and down the fire escape. She didn’t look back.
FIVE
GIA
A carwith the license plate Ramirez had sent through sat around the corner from the rear of the club. Gia opened the back door and slid in. The door had barely shut before the car was pulling into traffic.
“Hey, I’m Sam, a friend of your aunt’s,” said the woman in the driver’s seat, catching Gia’s eye in the rearview mirror.
Gia was lost for what to say. Her heart pounded so fast, she feared she’d pass out. Fuck, if she got one of her headaches now, she’d cry. The car’s heavy herbal scent wasn’t helping.
Sam didn’t seem bothered by her lack of response. “Can you let Ramirez know we’re on our way?”
Gia nodded and sent the text. She craned her neck to get a look at the street behind them, but didn’t see anyone giving chase. Not a single black SUV in sight.
That was too easy. Surely someone had seen her on the back alley camera. Even with a change of clothes, she wasn’t impossible to recognize, and they’d investigate anyone poking around regardless of whether they realized it was her. Unless Marc and the security guys were too busy with whatever footage had them concerned.
Gia’s tense muscles loosened as Sam pulled onto the highway. The woman was silent, her focus on the road, and Gia found herself relaxing into the calm. No one was following. She was safe for now.
Gia joltedawake and rubbed her dry eyes. Where was she? Her head pounded. Fuck, she was in a car.
That’s right, she’d escaped.
Sam was driving down a deserted stretch of highway. The clock on the dash said it was past three in the morning. Gia couldn’t believe she’d slept for hours, but it didn’t feel like she’d had one of her migraines, so she hadn’t lost time. At least not yet.
She glanced over her shoulder and out the rear window, finding no cars in sight. Good.
Digging through her backpack, she pulled out one of her pill bottles. She’d packed every bottle she’d had on hand before leaving. Once she was settled in Shearwater Landing, she’d have to find a doctor to prescribe more, but she’d be fine for months.
“There’s water in the center console.”
Gia jolted at the sound of Sam’s voice, looking over to find the woman’s heavily lined eyes on her in the rear-view mirror.
“Thanks.” She grabbed a sealed bottle and took her pill. “Headache,” she explained, not wanting Sam to wonder. Gia hadn’t mentioned her condition to Ramirez. It wasn’t anyone’s business.
Sam nodded, refocused on the road. “I need to stop for gas soon. Grab some food and anything else you need while I fill up.”
“Will do.” Gia checked her burner phoneand brought up a map. They’d made it out of state, but the West Coast was still nearly thirty hours away without stopping.
“Are we staying somewhere for the night?” she asked.
“Technically, it’s morning. And no. We’ll get back on the road after we refuel, so use the restroom.”
Unease twisted Gia’s gut. Sam didn’t appear tired, and Gia couldn’t deny putting as much distance as possible between her and Ashton Lakes was the safest bet.
It was fine. They’d have to stop eventually.
They did not stop eventually,and Gia was beginning to wonder if Sam was human. Which was bonkers. The kind of thing you’d only consider while sleep deprived and hopped up on too much caffeine.
Of coursethe woman was human. But Sam hadn’t slept at all, and she seemed as fresh as a fucking daisy.
Gia felt like she’d been hit by a bus. It had been nearly two days of only drive-throughs and quick stops at gas stations. The breakneck pace was a solid strategy to lose any pursuers. But still.
Who the fuckwasSam? Was it normal for lawyers to have associates who picked up random people in the middle of the night and drove halfway across the country like a bat out of Hell? No, it wasn’t.
