Page 93 of On a Fault Line

Penny sighs, probably too emotionally drained to argue. “Okay.”

“I’m glad I was able to get here for you.”

“But you had something important to do…”

“Nothing is more important than you, Princess. Everything else can wait.”

“Collins?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

18

COLLINS

A week has passed since Penny’s episode at the waterfront which shook me more than I ever let on. Every day since, I’ve had this clawing feeling in the back of my mind that something evil is lurking on the horizon. I felt it both days we visited the café but left before eating, and I felt it down at the waterfront.

But nothing unusual is popping up no matter how many more people I hire to keep a lookout.

In the days since that incident, Penny has been working in the Plus None offices and trying to cope with the possibility of not doing more modeling for the company—at least not for a while. She has been enjoying the marketing work, so that has taken up her focus until we can navigate her ongoing healing process. The last thing she needs is to be triggered again.

Rolling my shoulders, I enter through the back entrance of the gym and am face-to-face with both Hoffmans.

“How’s Penny?” Nic asks in greeting. His shoulders are drawn back and his posture a bit more rigid than usual.

“Same as she’s been each day you’ve asked. There’s literally no change. She seems to have put the incident behind her. It’s me who’s having a difficult time shaking this.”

Graham’s eyes study me. “Where is Penny now?”

“She’s at her session with Margo.”

“Good. She needs to not skip those anymore.”

“I agree, and I’ll stay on top of it more.”

“We have no doubt,” Nic chimes in.

“I’ll also make a point to connect with Mitch and keep him in the loop. He’s always a valuable resource.”

Graham straightens his posture, giving his back a little stretch. “Our legal team is breathing down our necks about getting Penny to prep for trial. I’m about ready for this all to be over.”

“Soon,” I promise. “I’m working on it.”

“Have you seen anything unusual during your prison visits?” Graham asks.

“No. Nothing.”

“Any more calls to her phone from Tanner?”

“No, just that one that I intercepted.”

“We appreciate you watching out for her,” Nic says quietly.

“I should never have left Penny during her photoshoot. I just never thought she would have a setback then. Perhaps she had a flashback? Until we can be clear on what happened at the waterfront, all we are doing is making assumptions.”

“So you arrived back after she was already slipping away?” Nic asks.

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