Page 48 of Safe Haven

Her eyes widen. “We?”

“We.” I glance her way, feeling better now that I’m the one squeezing her hand reassuringly. “They need to hear your story in your words. Intel might pick up on something I didn’t realize was important. Plus, getting to hear it firsthand will remove any possibility something could be lost in translation.” But there’s another reason I want Audrey to speak with Pierce and Intel. “And it’s time to give them the contents of the flash drive.”

Audrey stiffens. She’s clung to this flash drive like it’s her life preserver. Convinced herself it’s the thing keeping her alive.

But it’s not. It might actually be the thing that gets her killed. And someone else having access to all the secrets stashed on it might lower that risk since taking Audrey out will no longer get rid of the problem.

“I know you’re nervous about handing it over, but I think you’ll feel better after you get to meet everyone in person.” I tip my head from side to side as I clarify. “As in-person as we can get right now since we’re in Tennessee and they’re in Alaska.”

Audrey’s sitting a little lower in her seat, almost like she’s trying to make herself smaller. It’s a trauma response—one I’ve seen in a number of women around me, most recently Savannah—and the pain of seeing her shrinking is palpable.

It makes me feel a little bad for eating all of Zeke’s cookies since he faces a similar situation with his wife when she’s triggered and afraid.

“I know it’s scary, but I’m going to be there beside you the whole time.” Again, I squeeze her hand. “And this will get us one step closer to us finding Becca’s little sister.”

As I hoped, reminding her she isn’t the only one on the line has Audrey straightening in her seat. Her chin lifts, and an expression of determination hardens her pretty features. “You’re right.” She glances at the clock on the dash. “What time is our meeting? If there’s enough wiggle room, we can go get the flash drive now.”

“Where is it?” I haven’t pressed her about it. Didn’t want her to think I was trying to get my hands on it. It was her security blanket, and I wanted her to keep it as long as possible.

Unfortunately, her time hiding behind that digital wall of data is over.

“It’s in a safety deposit box at a bank Trevor doesn’t know I use.” Audrey opens my phone, and enters the bank into the GPS, rattling off the address as it calculates how long it will take us to get there.

The bank isn’t terribly far away, but going runs us right down to the wire. We hurry through the task of retrieving the drive, and it’s not too long before we’re back on the road, headed to the hotel. Rushing inside, we make it into our room with a few minutes to spare.

Audrey sits quietly while I set up my computer, logging into the special server Harlow and Heidi set up for us, before settling next to Audrey so both of us will be within camera range.

She jumps when the video call window pops up, her hands twisting tight in her lap as more and more faces fill our screen. All of Intel isn’t at this meeting, but enough of them are here it probably is a little intimidating. Even with the bulk of them smiling and looking thrilled to meet the woman who currently looks ready to throw up on her shoes.

Audrey has been so fucking brave today. First going to meet Becca and now facing down an entire group so she can tell them a story she hates. Admit to what she sees as her failings.

I know it’s going to be hard, but it has to happen. If for no other reason than so I won’t be the only one telling her none of this is her fault.

Heidi’s the first one to greet us. Her light blonde hair is tied into a messy bun at the top of her head and a giant insulated tumbler is clutched in one hand. She waves aggressively with the other as she leans closer. “Hi. Can you guys hear us?”

Audrey doesn’t move, so I nod. “Loud and clear.”

“Fantastic.” Harlow adjusts her thick-rimmed glasses as she flips open the file in front of her. “How did your meeting with Becca go?”

I maybe should have prepared Audrey for Harlow. She’s pretty similar to Becca in ways that might have Audrey worried about Harlow’s opinions of her. Unfortunately, it’s too late now, so I just have to hope Harlow is on her best behavior and recognizes Audrey is a little fragile right now.

And that’s not easy to accomplish through a computer screen.

“Enlightening.” I slide out the USB adapter on the handheld recorder I used during our conversation, plugging it into the portof the extension connected to my laptop. “I’m uploading it to the server now.” With a few clicks of my mouse, I’m able to send the full recording to everyone in the meeting so they can listen to it later. “She confirmed she was the other woman calling and reporting Trevor to the Memphis PD.”

“Did she say why she was reporting him?” This question comes from Mona, Pierce’s wife.

Before moving to Alaska, Mona was part owner of a digital investigative company. She’s been a huge asset not only because of what she’s capable of professionally, but also because she’s a cool head when Pierce needs someone tempering his more aggressive nature.

“Trevor has her little sister.” Audrey’s voice is surprisingly strong as she answers. “She worked for him in the clothing store I ran when we were married, and it sounds like he groomed her.”

The three women on the screen all look equally interested in physical violence.

“What a fucker.” Heidi shakes her head, sympathy softening her features. “I am so sorry for what he did to you.” A humorless smirk twists her lips. “But I promise he won’t get away with it.”

Audrey shrugs. “It’s fine. I just don’t want him hurting anyone else.” Her eyes fall to her lap. “I should have done all this sooner.”

“The fuck did you say?” Harlow snorts, and my stomach drops. She’s about to go on a rant that could be interpreted a lot of different ways if you don’t know her and all she’s been through.

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