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MIA
Iturn around, breathless, looking over the back seat and out the rear window. Dean’s driving fast enough that the compound quickly shrinks until it’s far enough away that I can’t see it anymore.
As far as I’m concerned, I’ll never see it again.
“It’s fine. Nobody saw me.” Dean lets out a breath like he’s relieved. “Now, are you going to tell me why you had me come and get you? Did somebody hurt you? Don’t tell me it was Zeke. I’ll go back there and kill him right now.”
“No. I mean, yeah, but not the way you think. It’s him and my father. Both of them. They’ve been lying to me all this time.”
“Lying about what?” He glances at me before turning back to the road. “Oh, no. You opened the email, didn’t you?”
“Of course, I did. You told me to.”
“But I didn’t think you would do it right away. I didn’t want things to turn out like this.”
“Well, they have.”
“So now you know. You know your family’s part of… all of that.”
He sounds disgusted, and he should. I know I feel that way. “How did I not know? How did I not see it? Now, when I’m looking back, it all comes together. It’s so obvious.”
“Don’t do that to yourself,” he murmurs. “It’s always easy to look back and think what you could’ve done or should’ve done. Think about it enough, and you’ll drive yourself nuts.” He sounds like he knows what he’s talking about.
And he makes sense, too. He was definitely the right person to reach out to. If Posey was anywhere nearby, she’d be freaking out right now. So would Blair. Anyway, Dean already knows who Dad is, who I am just by being his daughter. He’s the most logical choice.
“I’m never going back there. Not ever.” I hate how my voice shakes almost as much as I hate the tears that want to roll down my cheeks. I won’t let them. I’m done crying. Besides, crying isn’t going to help me put a plan together, and that’s what I need to do. I need to figure out a way to hide.
“How am I going to get away with this?” I cover my face with my hands. I can’t even access any money. “I have nowhere to go.”
“I told you I’d get you back to campus, and that’s what I’m going to do. You can get your stuff together, and we’ll figure it out from there.”
My hands fall into my lap. He’s right. I have to figure something out one step at a time. If he could take me to Blair’s house, I might be able to hide out there for a while. She’s probably home by now. If not, I’ll have to think of something else. There has to be a way. I won’t let him do this to me.
I won’t let either of them do this to me.
How could Zeke do this to me?
“It’s going to be okay,” Dean assures me. “You managed to get by before your dad found you. You can do it again.”
“That’s true. I’m sure you’re right.” I wish I believed myself, but it’s not easy. Not when I know the lengths my father is willing to go to so long as it means keeping me under his thumb. And now, if there’s another family involved? Somebody he wants to form an alliance with or whatever? He’s not going to let this go. I have to be smarter than him.
My phone buzzes. Right on schedule. I pull it out, growling. “It’s Zeke. Big surprise.”
“Let me have that.” Dean holds his hand out. “Come on. Give it to me.”
“You’re not going to say anything to him, are you? Don’t. Don’t start a fight. I don’t want you to end up in trouble over this.”
“Give me the phone.” I place it in his palm with a sigh, dreading what’s about to happen. He surprises me by turning the phone off and sliding it into his coat pocket.
“Why did you do that?”
“So you won’t be tempted to let him convince you to come back. He’s only going to harass you, you know that.”
Good point. I don’t have anything to say to him, anyway. Nothing he doesn’t already know. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for trusting him. Opening myself up to him. How stupid could I be? He was never going to go against my dad. Not ever.
I look up in time to see the entrance ramp to the freeway zip past. “You missed the freeway.”
“I’m taking a different route. If he comes after us, that’s the route he’ll take.”
