Page 100 of Delicate Escape

Sutton had wiped away silent tears at more than one point, her knuckles bleaching white as she gripped her coffee mug. I hated thatshe was hurting for me. But it also felt like a gift—knowing that she cared that much.

Anson was silent. Watchful. In the way I’d grown to know meant he was putting together the pieces. Pulling at threads I couldn’t see. Honestly, I didn’t want to. Because that gift came with a price.

“So, I’ve just been here,” I said finally, “living off the radar as much as possible. Going by my middle name, making sure nothing about my life can be found on the internet. No tracks or traces.”

Shep leaned in, his lips ghosting across my temple. “So fucking brave.”

Trace was quiet for a long moment. At some point, he’d started jotting notes on a pad of paper that Anson had handed him. There were more pages than I could count now. His dark green eyes connected with mine. “I’m so sorry this happened to you, Thea. Those words don’t do it justice, but they’re the best I have.”

Cool relief swept through me at his words. Like the feeling of air conditioning finally hitting you after a day working in the blistering sun. Or the river skating over your skin after lying on the bank for hours.

I swallowed, trying to clear the lump in my throat as Trace went blurry in front of me. “You believe me?”

Shep’s hand convulsed around mine.

“I believe you, Thea,” Trace said, pain lacing his words. “And I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

I inhaled through my nose, trying to clear the gathering tears. “I don’t think there’s anything to do. Any action you take would just lead Brendan back to me.”

“Well, I’m going to be googling how to hire a hitman,” Sutton clipped. “Then he won’t be able to get back to you at all.”

The ghost of a smile appeared on Trace’s face. “Gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Don’t care,” Sutton snapped. “This goes before a jury, they’ll see I was doing the world a favor by ridding it of that vile scum.”

“Amen,” Anson muttered.

Trace sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Let’s see what we can do via the legal system first.”

Shep’s thumb skated back and forth over the back of my hand. The callused skin soothed with each pass, assuring me he was still with me. “I’ve thought about an order of protection, but those will just reveal Thea’s location. And with Boseman’s connections, we might not be able to get a permanent one approved.”

That was the thing about people in power. They weren’t held to the same standards as everyone else. They could bend any system to their will. And whatever legal team Brendan assembled could crush me.

A muscle fluttered in Trace’s cheek. “He might be a hotshot in Hollywood, but this sure as hell isn’t Los Angeles.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said softly. “You don’t know him. Don’t know how convincing he is. There’s a reason he’s up for every award known to man.” Because Brendan used those acting skills. And he’d won gold with them. He’d just done it to destroy my life.

Trace rested his forearms against the table and leaned forward. “I’m not going to believe him. I promise. And I know that we can get a judge on our side if we need to. But for now, I want to make some delicate inquiries.” Trace leaned back and glanced at Anson. “You in?”

“Already been running some searches.”

Shep winced, looking at me. “I might’ve paid Anson so I could talk to him with shrink confidentiality protections.”

Anson scoffed. “Paid me a fucking dollar.”

“Hey, two dollars,” Shep shot back. Then he looked at me. “I needed someone to talk to about you.”

It should’ve made me angry, Shep sharing those details with someone without my permission. But all I could see was the lengths he’d gone to in order to make sure my secrets were protected. And the ridiculousness that was him paying his best friend a dollar to have a therapy session.

I looked at Anson. “A dollar, huh? That’s a steal.”

“Don’t go spreading that around,” he grumbled. “I amnotopen for business.”

Trace’s lips twitched. “Can’t really see you as the warm and comforting type, so that might be for the best.”

Anson flipped him off.

Sutton looked up from her tea, not joining in our amusement. “Did you find anything in your searches?”

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