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I did not have to think it over very long.
I had the reservation all set up anyway from when I was just dreaming about it, so I clicked submit. A moment later, I was rewarded with a congratulatory message on a pop up from the site.
Ineededthis getaway.
Needed the absolute lack of interruptions, needed nobody checking in with me, needed to see something other than Vegas every damn day. This was one benefit of having inherited a massive family fortune—getting to use it for moments exactly like this.
I went to my email to double-check my booking information. Soon I was going to have to get my ass up and start packing for the trip I was apparently embarking on the very next day. For the moment, I took the time to glance at what other messages I might have, knowing that I was going to be unavailable for the next few days.
A new message in my inbox from Rowan Phillips at the Cartwright center made my heart race. I didn’t even know what it said, yet just knowing it was there, waiting, made me nervous.
Cree had grown up with Rowan in the local foster care system and worked with her in various charity endeavors. Her center had made huge strides for the underserved communities nearby. It was the pinnacle of what people meant when they talked about wanting to see privileged people put their money where their mouths were when they claimed to want to “give back”.
So what better person to help me with my own endeavor, using some of my inheritance, to create a resource for other people - adults and children alike—who’d suffered through the indignity and terror of sex trafficking.
I couldn’t open it right now.
Because if I did, I would spend the bulk of what was supposed to be a relaxing getaway planning and strategizing instead. I closed the lid on the laptop, leaving it where it was for when I packedthatbag later.
For now, I focused on the clothes.
Bathing suits and maxi dresses were all I needed—I had no plans to give any more thought than absolutely necessary to what I was putting on from day to day for the time I was there. I just wanted to be comfortable. At the last moment, I shoved a few pairs of shorts and a couple tee shirts in my bag, all the way at the bottom.
I would do my level best tonotneed them.
I got my toiletries together, underwear, all that, then ran through a mental checklist of anything else I might need. I kept my car gassed and had enough snacks already stocked in my house that I could put some things together for the road without having to stop.
This was going to belovely.
* * *
I frownedat the sound of my doorbell.
It was too early in the morning for unexpected visitors, and nobody had called or texted me about stopping by.
I put down the bags I’d been about to take through the garage door to load the car, a deep feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach as I headed to answer the front door.
None of the possibilities in my mind were good.
Had something happened? Was someone hurt?
Those were the genuine emergencies that made me not drag my feet to answer, even though the third possibility had me tempted to make a run for it instead.
Maybe someone knew about my trip.
I had said nothing, but spyware on my computer—or someone monitoring my email—weren’t outside the realm of possibility. Alicia still worked as Kingston Whitfield’s head of security, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if me booking the room atEscapein my name had set off some red flag.
My frowned deepened when I realized it was Penelope at my door.
I opened it without hesitation, welcoming the only person I knew whose plight almost identically mirrored my own. The difference was, she wassomuch younger, and honestly… had gotten it worse.
And yet… she was absolutely thriving.
The bright smile onherface made me reconsider my own expression—obviously, there was nothing wrong. The realization allowed my shoulders to relax, and I greeted her with a hug she happily returned as she stepped in.
“Shouldn’t you be headed to campus?” I asked her, still wondering what could have brought her by.
She answered me with a nod. “I will, but… I kinda wanted to run something by you, if that’s cool?”
