Page 58 of Captivated

“Tonight?” As if the nausea in my stomach couldn’t get any worse, the timeline of this plan is like taking a ride in the DeLorean.

As my father stands again, my eyes trail him across the room. “Michael is waiting for you to pack. He will drive you to a warehouse where the car that those keys belong to is waiting.” He gestures towards the envelope of documents I placed at my feet. “Your mother’s friend is waiting for you to arrive in Colorado in a few days. An itinerary of where you will stop and rest is in the car you’ll take from here. Rooms have been booked in your new name and there is enough cash in that envelope to live on for a year, if need be.”

“Do you really think I’ll be gone that long?” My strength is crumbling as I take in every detail he’s planned to make sure I’m safe.

“I don’t know, darling. But if we need to get more money to you, we will make it happen.”

“Go. Live as Piper Davis, sweetheart.”

“Piper Davis, huh? How’d you decide on that one?”

“Well, your name is the German version of Piper, and Davis—well, you know that is your mother’s maiden name.”

“You don’t think the Montevallo’s will catch on to that?”

“We’re hoping not. But we wanted to give you a name that wasn’t far from your own and you could easily adapt to.”

“You need to go pack, Pfeiffer,” my mother says, reaching for my hand. “Then we can say our final goodbyes.”

After shoving as many of my belongings as I could into two suitcases, my parents and I crumble once more as we cling to each other for the last time. I had to believe this wouldn’t be the final time we saw each other, but without a time limit to this situation being resolved, there was no way to tell.

“I love you both, so much.” My lips are trembling, my eyes so full of tears, the two people that I owe everything to are nothing but a blur in front of me.

“We love you too, darling. Now go,” my mother waves me off before turning into my father’s chest, burying her face so she doesn’t have to watch me leave.

With every ounce of strength I possess, I walk out the door of my home and meet Michael, our family’s head of security, at the end of the driveway. Opening my door for me, he ushers me inside of the black sedan with windows so dark, no one could see inside even they shined a flashlight to them.

“Michael…” The sadness and fear in my voice as I only say his name is enough to alert him to the fact that I’m moments from breaking.

“I know, Pfeiffer. But this is for the best. We’ve already received a letter threatening your life,” he speaks to me in the rearview mirror, cranking the engine, and taking off for the warehouse where a white BMW waits for me.

Michael loads my suitcases in the trunk and shows me my itinerary for my trip, pointing out each stop and commanding that I check in at those points using the phones my mother gave me. One last check that I have everything associated with my new identity, and then he gives me a hug.

“Take care of yourself. Listen to your gut. Watch behind your back. And don’t give up hope.”

My eyes well once more as I acknowledge his words with a bob of my chin, unable to speak any more about the change my life is about to take. Before I know it, I’m on the road, heading out of New York, straight to the highway in the black of night, and on a trip that leaves one life behind and another completely fuzzy before me.

I drive for days, every few hours contemplating turning around and refusing to do this, fantasizing about ripping Mason’s balls off and shoving them down his throat. Part of me would love nothing more than to see his face when he realizes I’m gone. But since Michael took my old phone before I left, he has no way of getting in contact with me from here on out.

I feel so lost, even though I have a set of directions right in front of me telling me exactly where to go. But here’s the thing—even a well-formulated plan can make you feel uneasy about following it. Half of me knows this is what I have to do. The other half is fighting every instinct in my body that tells me I need to run. I don’t run from problems, I’m a fighter. I always have been. Even though I’ve been fairly quiet around others and a professional at minding my own business, I’m never hesitant to stand up and speak up when I know something’s wrong. And what Mason didwaswrong. But I can’t stay here and fight him when my parents need me to be safe more than I need to defend myself.

So, I run—for the first time in my life.

I run towards the sense of peace that at least this entire situation has prevented me from marrying a man I barely knew. A man who lies and cheats and manipulates others because his bad habit is more important to him than the people in his life.

I run towards the job I have been working tirelessly to have for years, an opportunity that I cannot let slip through my fingers, a job that I feel deep in my bones I am meant to do.

And I run towards the promise that one day, I will find a man that is worthy of me, who won’t lie and cheat and manipulate, but that will offer me the honesty that I never got from Mason. I just hope that when that day comes, I will be free of the chains that Mason’s lies have bounded me to—this brand new life as Piper Davis and the inkling on my spine of always having to look over my shoulder.

Chapter 22

Cash

“Do you see what I’m seeing?” I gesture to the computer screen in front of me, Piper or should I say, Pfeiffer’s, gorgeous face staring back at me twice.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Cooper shakes his head as his eyes widen, leaning forward to get a closer look.

“I… I don’t even know what to say,” Luke admits while I stare mindlessly ahead.

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