Page 39 of Safe Haven

The way he says it makes me think it might have happened before. That Darion—in his perfectly tailored suit and sharp-edged haircut—has lured more than a few women from happy homes.

Then again, if the home was that happy, I’d think most women would be inclined to stay, so maybe it’s unhappy homes they’re ready to leave behind. I know I would have probably swooned over the possibility of being whisked away by a man like him not so long ago.

Not anymore though. There’s only one man I’m interested in whisking me away, and he’s proven himself more than capable of the task.

“You still haven’t answered my question. Who do you think we’re a few steps behind?”

“All business, aren’t you?” Darion takes the chair I recently vacated, unbuttoning his jacket as he lowers to the seat. After crossing his legs, resting an ankle against his knee, he leans back. “It’s recently come to our attention that my company should probably be doing a little more investigating of thepeople who hire us.” His dark eyes go from me to Maddox. “The owner ran into an issue with a client becoming problematic, so now we dig a little deeper than we once did.” His focus comes back to me. “During our investigation of your ex-husband, I unearthed a few suspicious connections that made me inclined to believe turning over the information I collected on you would put you in danger.”

He’s making it sound like he knows a lot about me and Trevor, and that has me wondering. “How long have you been investigating me?”

Darion hesitates before admitting, “A little over a year.”

That sends me stepping back. “Ayear?” I move back again, sinking down when my thighs hit the edge of the bed. “That was before I left.”

Darion nods. “Correct.”

My skin feels cold and the room is moving around me. “Did he know I was going to leave him?”

Darion tips his head in a nod. “He suspected it.”

“That’s enough.” Maddox tries to cut off the conversation. “She’s had a long night and needs to rest.”

I shake my head, because I need to know the truth of what I’m facing. “I’m okay, just surprised. He seemed so shocked when he found out I was gone.” I’d been so careful. Covered my tracks and hidden my preparations. Honestly, evenIhadn’t known exactly when I’d be walking out, so hearing Trevor was prepared is making me question everything I’ve done.

“He was surprised, because I didn’t tell him the truth.” Darion studies me. “I didn’t tell him when you opened a new bankaccount. When you met with a divorce attorney. When you connected with the people who ultimately helped you leave.”

Darion explains that if Trevor asked, he flat out lied about where he’d seen me. Concocted explanations for my whereabouts. And most of them are shockingly similar to what I claimed when Trevor interrogated me.

That can’t be a coincidence. “Did you have my house bugged?”

Darion shakes his head. “Not your house.” He points at me. “You. Remember that new phone Trevor gave you for your birthday? It had a voice-activated recording device in it, and you took your phone everywhere.”

“So you heard the lies I told him and then backed me up?” All this time, someone was looking out for me. And I had no idea.

I know it should make things better, but it almost makes them worse. I was so proud of leaving. Feeling like I could get away on my own helped me have the confidence to make those first phone calls to the Memphis police. I thought even if I did have to go on the record, I could do it. That I was brave enough to share what I knew because I’d been brave enough to walk away.

“If I hadn’t, he would have killed you before you had the chance to walk out, Audrey.” Darion uncrosses his legs and leans forward, his eyes fixed on me. “But make no mistake, you did the hard work. I just fed him the meal you cooked.”

I want to feel like I deserve at least a little credit, but I’m not sure I do. I know Lydia and Savannah helped me with the actual escape, but I felt like I’d done all the work leading up to it. That I was the one who put all the ducks in a row so I was the one who should be proud.

But now I know the only reason my ducks didn’t end up dinner was because of Darion. Without him backing me up—keeping Trevor from getting suspicious—I wouldn’t have gotten out.

I’ve tried to build myself up, but the whole thing was constructed with straw. And all it took was one gust of truth to blow it all away.

“I’m going to hang around Memphis for a while. Keep an eye on Trevor and his associates. Not just for your benefit, but also to cover my company’s ass. Once Trevor goes down—and he will go down—I want my nose to be clean.” Darion stands up, one hand deftly buttoning his jacket in a fluid movement. “If you need anything, you know how to reach me.” He pauses to shake Maddox’s hand and then leaves, taking the tiny bit of wind remaining in my sails with him.

“Audrey.” Maddox crosses the room, coming straight to stand in front of me. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I don’t fucking like it.” He crouches down, trying to make me look at him. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what’s happening in that pretty head of yours.”

I swallow at the ache in my throat. “I thought I’d changed, but I haven’t. I wanted to believe I was stronger—braver—but it was all fake. I thought I was carrying the load, but everyone was behind the curtain supporting the weight.”

“That’s not true,” Maddox tries to argue with me.

“Yes, it is. You just heard Darion. The only reason I was able to get out of there alive was because he lied to Trevor. Without that, I never would’ve made it out the door. Trevor would have killed me and I would have been the one leaving his house in an unmarked van.” The unsettling thought adds another layer tomy burden. To my shame. “If I can’t even manage to convince Trevor I’m telling the truth, then how am I going to convince the world?” Granted, Iwasn’ttelling Trevor the truth, but still. My believability is obviously lacking. There’s no way anyone will listen when I try to show them who he really is.

Maddox is quiet for a minute, his blue eyes moving over my face. “I wish I could tell you it will be easy to convince the authorities that what you’re saying is true, but there’s a long history proving otherwise.” His hands come to my thighs, warm and solid as they slide up to grip my hips. “Many women weren’t believed. No matter how much proof they had. No matter how many people corroborated their story. It’s fucking infuriating.” He takes a deep breath. “And I can’t guarantee that won’t happen here.” Maddox’s expression hardens. “But I swear to you, Trevor won’t get away with what he’s done.”

My chin wobbles. “He might, though.” And if he does, I’ll never be safe. I’ll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. Wondering when he’s going to come for me. How long I have left before all my bad decisions do me in.

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