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Betty-Lou nodded. “You stay here and I’ll take care of it.”
“I have to check on Dav—Danielle.”
“Call Pippa. She has a secret room in the back of her bookstore. She can safely hide in there until we sort this out.”
Brynn reached for her cell phone as Betty-Lou disappeared into the diner. It rang twice before the bookstore owner picked up.
“Hi, Pippa. Is Danielle there?”
“Yes, he—I mean she’s helping me put away a new order that just came in. It’s like a beaming light has been switched on behind her eyes, Brynn. She’s effervescent. Thank you for trusting me and telling me about this important moment in your lives.”
Relief flooded her veins, but she didn’t have time to discuss this. “Can you take her to that secret room Mason built? And if anyone comes in asking for me, please don’t tell them anything.”
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Pippa’s tone turned worried.
Brynn swallowed the panic stuck in her throat. “Just keep my daughter safe, please. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay, done. Anything you need, let me know.”
“Thank you.” Brynn hung up as Betty-Lou came back in.
“The Pirates are going to escort the man out of town.”
Brynn’s eyes widened. “They are?”
Betty-Lou nodded. “I don’t think he’ll be coming back anytime soon when they’re done with him.”
“I . . . I need to leave.” Leave Shattered Cove. Run from New Hampshire all together.
Betty-Lou grasped her hand and led her to the locker room once again. “I know from experience that, sometimes, it’s better to take a stand. You must be careful, of course. Be smart about it. In Shattered Cove, you have friends and resources. If you leave, you’ll be starting over again.”
How did Betty-Lou know she was thinking of leaving town and not just the diner?
But if she did leave, Danielle would lose all her friends and the Hope Facility. Without that support system, she might crawl back into her shell and become depressed. What would become of them if they left? What kind of future would they have if they continued to run?
“But what if he finds us?”
“Sweetheart, you’ve got a whole town who’ll band around you. A sheriff who takes violence against women and children more seriously than anyone I know, friends with their own special talents, and four new biker acquaintances who have just put the fear of God into that little snake that slithered in here.”
Brynn nodded, her mind reeling. Betty-Lou was right. Brynn was done running. She wouldn’t let Paul take anything else from her. And she would do whatever it took to keep Danielle safe.
But she couldn’t do this alone. Danielle needed real help, and Brynn couldn’t give that to her without health insurance and an official ID. If she used her own name, that would put them in more danger. Danielle needed a support system, people who understood what she was going through on a personal level that Dani could lean on. As hard as Brynn would try—and she’d do whatever it took—it just wouldn’t be enough. I need help.
Aaron had offered her a solution. A crazy, ridiculous idea that, right now, was her best shot at keeping herself and Danielle protected. She’d trade her soul to the devil himself if it meant keeping her baby safe.
Hopefully, Brynn wasn’t running from one nightmare into the reality of another.
