Chapter 2 - The Safehouse
We did not go to a coffee shop. We did not go to a standard hotel.
Adrian drove us in a nondescript rental car to a gated community on the outskirts of Charlotte, pulling into the driveway of a heavily wooded property. The house was modern, quiet, and equipped with a security system that Adrian bypassed with a sequence of rapid keystrokes on a keypad.
"Where are we?" I asked, wrapping my arms around my aching ribs.
"A colleague's place. They are overseas for the next six months," Adrian said, tossing his keys onto the counter. He went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of ice water and a small first-aid kit.
He motioned for me to sit on the sofa. Carefully, gently, he examined the bruising on my wrist and the swelling along my jaw.
"You said your work overseas was in industrial turbines," I whispered, watching the methodical, clinical way he checked my injuries.
"It was," Adrian said smoothly. "But when you spend fifteen years in volatile regions protecting billion-dollar infrastructure, you learn a few things about security. And you meet people who know how to make things disappear."
He handed me an ice pack. "Grant will start calling soon. He realizes you aren't coming back."
As if on cue, my phone vibrated in my purse.
Grant: Are you having fun with your uncle? Come home soon. I made your favorite dinner.
I stared at the screen, my hands shaking. "He's going to punish me for leaving. You don't understand, Adrian. He has connections. People in local government, the police force..."
"Every man who builds a cage out of intimidation relies on the illusion of absolute power," Adrian said, pulling a sleek black laptop from his bag. "Grant is a financial manager. He manages wealth for influential people. That makes him useful, Evie. Not powerful. Useful people can be discarded."
My phone vibrated again.
Grant: Evie. It’s been three hours. Where are you?
Grant: Answer your phone. You know I worry. You know what happens when I get worried.
May you like
"Turn it off," Adrian instructed. "From this moment forward, you do not exist in his world. We are going to build a new one."
I pressed the power button, plunging the screen into darkness. For the first time in two years, the invisible tether connecting me to Grant was severed. But the fear remained, cold and heavy in my chest.
