Page 108 of Sinful Escape

What if I arrive at Pierre’s doorstep and he really does reject me?

I’d never been rejected by a man before, but there was an obvious reason behind that . . . I’d never instigated the pursuit. My attempted kiss with Roman didn’t count, even though he’d said he liked it. I was drunk and had probably looked scary as all fuck, pouting my lips at him like a giant goldfish. And I would’ve reeked of alcohol. So yeah, I wasn’t counting that one. William didn’t count either. Nothing with him counted anymore.

Roman’s words raced through my mind. Why do you waste your energy on that dipshit? You seriously need to move on. You need a mind-blowing fuck.

That was exactly what I needed, and Pierre and his lovely soft hands would be perfect to launch me out of my troubling past and set the pace for my future.

My phone buzzed, and thinking it was Roman checking up on me, I smiled as I tugged it from my bag. Fuck.

My smile obliterated the second I saw the number.

Mother!

It rang over and over, each one more shrill than the one before.

My mind raced through a thousand avenues, trying to work out how she’d found my contact details. But I had nothing. I’d been careful.

It stopped ringing, and the silence pierced my ears like ice picks.

I glanced around at the people sharing the train cabin with me. They were lost in their own world, consumed by the sounds filtered into their brains by tiny earbuds and oblivious to the horror that was strangling my brain.

It rang again, and the phone tumbled from my fingers. Scrambling to pick it up, I jabbed at the red X, cutting off the sound.

With trembling fingers, I turned it off.

Placing my face in my hands, I leaned forward and stared at my skinny knees until my heart rate returned to normal.

How the hell did she find me?

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream.

Instead, clutching my bag, I went to the restroom and washed my face. The last nineteen days had been a rollercoaster. I’d felt more emotions than I’d felt in the last three years. After drying the water off my face, I clutched at the basin. Dread in my eyes mirrored the brick lodged deep in my belly, thick and heavy.

I needed Zali’s wisdom to get through this one.

Returning to my seat, I reluctantly turned on my cell and quickly tapped a text to Zali.

The fucking bitch has found me

Your mother? Fuck, babe. How?

Yep, and I don’t know

Is she there???

Hell no. I’d die if she was

No, you wouldn’t. I told you to punch her in the face next time you saw her

I smiled at the memory of the two of us playing out that scenario on one of our pissy nights on the cruise. We’d wrestled each other to the floor and had been giggling so hard I’d thought I’d pee myself. God, I missed Zali.

So it was a phone call

My shoulders sagged.

Yeah.

You didn’t answer, did you?

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