Page 12 of Family Bonds- Jarrett & Andi

But she’d kept that quiet until there was no way to keep it quiet. It was probably good her father wasn’t alive during that time.

She wanted out and knew that what Jack offered was the only way to do it.

The timing was ideal and she wasn’t sure she’d ever admit that to anyone. That she had to change her name and location and it worked out perfectly. Her past was buried where it belonged.

“I don’t trust anyone anymore,” she said softly. “That’s why I’m alone.”

“Don’t go there,” Jack said. He opened his sub and took a massive bite and she got a spoon to eat her soup. Her head was killing her and she didn’t want to talk about this anymore. She was lucky she wasn’t moaning over the aches and pains happening on the rest of her body.

But she knew Jack was going to be sitting next to her all night while she slept so it was best to get some of this out now so she could relax a little.

“It’s hard to trust someone when they don’t know I’m living a lie,” she said. Andi hadn’t thought this all through when she agreed to it. But the other option had been to stay and maybe not be alive to even have this conversation.

“I know and I’m sorry about that,” Jack said. “But there are a lot of people in Witness Protection that have met and married someone. They lead normal lives.”

“Living a lie,” she pointed out.

“It’s not a lie,” he said. “This is your life now. It’s not like someone is asking you if you’re in Witness Protection. You’ve got a background story and it all lines up. We kept it as simple as we could.”

Just changed her nameandwhere she grew up and all the names of her family.

Nothing simple about that.

“I’m tired, Jack. I just want to eat and then get some sleep. The spare bed is made up and you should be fine.”

She was renting this house on the island. Two bedrooms, one bath. She was lucky that when she contacted Amanda about the position and flew in,that herhusband, Drew, was able to connect Andi with one of his realtors and gave her some places that were for rent.

Amanda didn’t question the fact that she could afford to rent a house instead of looking for a cheaper apartment. Andi wouldn’t lie about the money if she had to be honest, but she hadn’t been asked.

Her credit check came back clean, like she knew it would, and she signed the lease after checking the few houses out on a quick trip with Jack to scope out the area.

They liked this house the best even though it was the smallest, but it afforded privacy from neighbors yet wasn’t isolated. She had clear views through all the windows into the front and backyards. Plus, a security system was already installed and she paid the service to make Jack happy.

“Go lie down,” he said. “I know it’s been a long day.”

“I need to eat. I want to shower.”

“Can you wait?” Jack asked. “They said not to get your wound wet and I’m not sure I want to worry about you going down in the shower.”

She laughed and wished she hadn’t since it hurt too much. “I get it.” She sat and started to eat her soup. She was exhausted and just the thought of knowing she was home now made her want to climb in bed.

She took a few scoopfuls of the soup but found her eyes were barely staying open.

“Go to bed,” he said. “You’re tired.”

“I can take some more pain pills in an hour. I want to get food in my stomach and get them in me so I can sleep.”

“No arguing with you, right?” Jack asked. “Got any chips? I forgot to get some.”

“In the pantry,” she said, pointing to the doors next to the fridge. At least this place was somewhat modern even if it was small for a house. Still bigger than an apartment and she’d never lived in a house by herself before.

She wasn’t sure how she’d feel about it, but it was working out. She liked thepeace and quietmore than hearing noises from the apartments next to her.

She didn’t feel jumpy here like she did in other places.

Maybe this was just where she was meant to be.

Jack got up and found the chips, but the crunching was making her head ache.

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