Page 85 of Peyton's Price

“You can do that?” A look of dawning hope began to light Anisa’s eyes.

Please God don’t let me be making promises I can’t keep. No.This was on her. She had to make this happen.

“I think so,” Peyton promised. “Can you get away from Omer whenever you want?”

Anisa nodded. “He knows I can’t leave the country. He thinks I’m too afraid, but he lets me go shopping on my own.”

“Good,” Peyton said, taking out a pen and a receipt. She wrote her phone number on the back, then typed Anisa’s into hers.

“I’m going to leave now to get started, but as soon as I can, I’m going to text you to set up a meeting. I will have everything you need to leave. And don’t bring anything unless it’s small and fits in your purse. No favorite clothes or books. If you’re serious about leaving Omer, you can buy anything you need after.”

Anisa swallowed, her eyes tearing up. “Thank you.”

Peyton wanted to add a million caveats. She had no idea if she could deliver, but when Anisa took her hand, all the warnings died on her tongue.

Shehadto do this—even if it meant blowing up her relationship with Matthias.

Chapter 35

Convincing Priya to help her only took an hour. Convincing her that she could get Matthias on board proved to be an abject failure.

“Peyton, I believe we should keep this between us for now,” Priya advised. “After what you told me, I suspect he is traumatized by what happened at Belarus. I know the mistake was not on our end, but I don’t think he can’t bring himself to accept that.”

Peyton sighed, glad Matthias was still at that heinous party. “I know, but I don’t like keeping this a secret from him.”

“Whether or not you want to disclose it is your decision, but perhaps you should wait for Mr. Tyler’s return to do so?”

“Do you think I need a buffer? Because once Matthias gets over the shock, he will understand why I couldn’t look the other way.”

“Yes, of course. But Mr. Tyler could provide…insurance.”

Peyton couldn’t help but laugh. “All that muscle does make an effective shield.”

Except what Priya didn’t know was Liam wasn’t getting here any time soon. He’d called her while she was in the car to let her know he’d been unavoidably delayed in New York. He was terribly sorry and more than a little irritated, but he promised to make it up to her and Matthias with something special.

She wanted to be excited about whatever he had planned—he’d sounded both nervous and gleeful, which was atypical for him, but Peyton couldn’t help but worry about the task at hand.

Maybe she should keep it a secret. Once the new papers arrived, Peyton could deliver them to Anisa with a cashier’s check.

They talked more, formulating plans.

“Don’t worry about making travel arrangements for Anisa,” Priya said eventually, more than a hint of enthusiasm in her tone. “The less you know, the better.”

Peyton hung up shortly after, relieved the ball was in someone else’s court for the moment.I just hope I’m not getting Priya in trouble.

That was the least of Peyton’s worries. She could protect Priya. If Matthias found it, Peyton would do whatever she had to, including falling on her metaphorical sword, to save her friend’s job.

No. Matthias would know who to blame.Stop thinking about it, she ordered herself.

She had her own plans to make, and one of the things on her agenda was reviewing the case file and other documents Mason had just sent.

* * *

Three days later,Peyton met Anisa at a crowded shopping center. Or at least, she was supposed to. Anisa was over an hour late.

Peyton sipped a smoothie, half-wishing she hadn’t ordered one. Drinking anything had been a huge mistake. She had been twisted in knots ever since the fake passport had come in the mail.

Anisa’s not coming. I should have known…

---