“I thought that was the idea of group.” I tugged at a frayed hem on my jeans. “We listen and we support one another. It’s about community building.”
“It is. But you’re surface level with everyone, Gwen. Even your closest friends, you don’t open up to.” She frowned. “And I get it. I was the same way. Group therapy was good at helping me understand everyone else, but not at helping anyone understand me. So I think you and I are going to start weekly sessions. One hour of your time, you are gonna share with me, and we’ll try to get to the root of some stuff.”
Considering I already saw Rhiannon several times a week, for several hours a day, that wouldn’t be a problem.
“Alright.”
“And I want a poem.”
“You want a what?”
“A poem.” She stood and propped her hands on her hips. “You used to write songs. I’ve heard you sing them down at the rec center. Those are deep. They talk about the things you’ve gone through and how you felt.”
I cringed. “I wrote those when I was an angsty teen.”
“Yeah, before you shut yourself off from anything vulnerable.” The door to her office clicked open. “I’ve heard about writer’s block, so I won’t give you a deadline. But I want you working on it.”
Edwards held the door for Simone. She came out first, shoulders curled inward, head hung toward the floor. Edwards stayed at her rear, his expression blank. Probably saw things like this every day.
“Report all taken care of?” Rhiannon asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” Edwards hooked his thumbs through the straps of his bulletproof vest. “Honestly, I agree with Simone. From what she said about this guy, he’s probably long gone.”
“In my experience,” Rhiannon said, “guys like this are persistent.”
“Sure. That’s why he came back.” Edwards shook his head. “But the whole street saw him talking to Simone the way he did. After that, he stuck around for another shot. Then he beat the living hell out of her, and she got away. No way in hell he doesn’t know that she filed a report. I don’t see him coming back. But if he does, call us. We’ll take him in. Get you a restraining order too, if we gotta.”
Everything I had done to conceal David’s murder was because I feared the police. But had I needed to? Clearly, theyhad some understanding of what the ranch was. It stood to reason they knew Simone was living under a false identity. If they hadn’t run David’s record already, but they did soon, they would learn that Simone had violated a custody order. Would they be back for her then?
“Alright.” Rhiannon raised her hands in surrender. “Thanks, kid.”
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before he headed out.
Rhiannon looked at Simone. “Do you want the ranch to know? Or do you want to keep this quiet?”
“Between us, preferably?” Simone’s tone was as meek as her stance. I had never seen her like this before. “I don’t want anyone else to worry about an ex coming back for them.”
“Got to figure out what we’re going to tell them then,” Rhiannon said. “How about something happened at work? You had to file a report about an angry customer who didn’t pay.”
“That should work.”
“Wait,” I said, standing. “Wait, are we sure Simone’s not going to get in trouble for violating her custody order? If the cops know she did that, they could arrest her, couldn’t they? Surely she has warrants by now.”
Rhiannon’s shoulders, her eyes, everything about her demeanor was so casual. Like she had been here before. “Don’t worry about it.”
“The local cops are in on the ranch?” I asked.
“If they weren’t, the ranch wouldn’t be running.” Rhiannon gestured outside. “It’s late. We should all turn in. I’m sure Margaret’s waiting for you to pick up Junie, Simone.”
“Probably.” Simone headed for the door. Over her shoulder, she said to me, “Call me when you’re back up to your cabin.”
I had already planned on it. I needed to know the exact story she gave Edwards. But since the day I’d gotten here, Ihad wondered how this place ran. Simone had mentioned once that the billionaire’s backing covered more than just fees at the ranch. Now, I had to wonder…
I caught up to Rhiannon as she started outside. “Are you saying you own them?”
Rhiannon scoffed. “Excuse me?”
“The local cops,” I said. “You pay them to look the other way, don’t you?”
