Prologue
Valerie
My heart beat so fast, it felt as though it were rattling my ribs, straining to get free. I eyed James from the backseat as he navigated through DC traffic. My driver, but also my warden. I wasn’t sure he even knew it, but he was just the same.
James turned off the main thoroughfare and onto a quaint side street full of high-end shops and art galleries. I tried to steady my ragged breathing. He pulled to a stop in front of a salon. My port in the storm, the one place he or my fiancé wouldn’t follow.
I gripped my purse tighter, knuckles bleaching white. “I’ll be a few hours.” I was impressed my voice didn’t shake.
James nodded. “I know the drill, ma’am. I’ll be keeping an eye out from here.”
I wanted to laugh, but it would have come out in a disgusted tone. What was James keeping an eye out for exactly? Terrorists? Viking marauders? Certainly not the one person I actually needed protection from.
Garrett had introduced James innocently enough. All the fiancées and wives of the partners at Garrett’s law firm had drivers. He didn’t want me to have to navigate the craziness of Washington DC traffic. I’d thought it was sweet at the time. But then again, I had thought a lot of things were sweet once upon a time, things that I now realized were stones used to build my prison.
Then James had become driverandbodyguard. “I’m involved with some very powerful people, Valerie,” Garrett had said. “Someone could try to hurt you to get to me. I just want you to be safe.”
I rubbed a tender spot on my arm. Apparently, Garrett was the only one who was allowed to hurt me.
I straightened my spine. Those days were over. “See you in a few hours,” I called over my shoulder as I hopped down from the SUV. My ribs cried out at the motion, but I kept my face perfectly blank.
I’d become a master at masks over the past few years. No one knew what lurked beneath my surface. The pain that wracked my body and my heart. But, most importantly, no one—save a single soul—knew the plotting and planning I’d been doing for months. It was the only way this might work.
I pushed open the door to the salon and scanned the busy space. I spotted Gena in the back corner. She’d switched her normal station at the front of the salon with another stylist for today.
I strode forward, weaving around people to get to my only friend in the world. A nervous smile pulled at her lips as she wrapped me in a hug. I stiffened. Gena immediately pulled back. “Shit. How bad?”
It had only taken a couple of visits to Gena’s salon for her to begin to put the pieces together about my relationship. She hadn’t pushed, though. Then, one day after she’d caught sight of the bruises around my neck that I’d attempted to hide with a scarf, she’d leaned down and whispered in my ear, “You don’t deserve this. No one does. When you’re ready to talk, I’m here.” My story had spilled out in small bursts over the following months. And Gena and her salon had become my only port in the storm that was my life.
I shook myself from the memory and attempted a smile that came out as more of a grimace. “Not bad.” And compared to other times, it wasn’t. I had been careless. Gotten distracted as I was going over the plan in my mind and hadn’t heard my phone ring at first. I had three rings to answer, but two was really best. Anything over three, and I would pay for it. And when Garrett had gotten home last night, I had.
Gena’s lips pressed together into a firm line. “We are going to get you out of this.”
I gripped her hand. “I know. Thank you so much.”
“Anything for you, girl. Now, let’s give you a new look.”
* * *
An hour and a half later,I fingered the ends of my new bob. Gone were my long, golden locks, and in their place was a shoulder-length brunette ‘do. I examined my reflection in the mirror. I looked different, I just wished I could do something about my eyes.
I’d always loved my eyes. They were the same as my mother’s. One of the few things I had of hers since she’d died in childbirth. But their almost violet hue made them too unique.
Gena squeezed my shoulder. “I got you contacts. They’ll only last two weeks, but it’s long enough for you to get wherever you end up going, and then it won’t matter as much.”
I felt a flash of pain at having to hide what little I had left of my mother, but I knew it was necessary. “You’ve thought of everything.”
Gena squeezed my shoulder again. “We’vethought of everything. He’s not going to find you this time.”
I’d tried to run once before, but I’d made the mistake of taking off with no real plans and using my credit card at a hotel. Garrett had found me in less than twenty-four hours, and his reaction had ensured I didn’t even consider running again for over a year.
I let out a long, slow breath. I was smarter now. Stronger. I had planned for every possibility. I rose from the chair. “Let’s do this.”
Gena led me back to a large bathroom where she handed me a paper bag. “Your contacts and a different outfit.”
I peeked into the bag, and a smile pulled at my lips. Jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. How long had it been since I’d worn something so casually comfortable? I honestly couldn’t remember. College, maybe? I fought the urge to rip off the pencil skirt and cardigan I was wearing.
Gena cleared her throat. “First, we have to take pictures.”
