Page 131 of One More Betrayal

Emily isn’t here, but that’s probably because she’s busy setting up Theresa’s decorations. The wedding is tomorrow.

Simone grabs the pitcher from the table. “Strawberry lemonade, Jess?”

“Yes, please.” I take the empty seat, my insides twisting. With Avery here, I won’t be able to talk to Simone about the wig I need for Violet.

Simone passes me the glass of lemonade. “You mentioned you have something important you want to talk to me about?”

“It…it doesn’t matter anymore. I was…” My gaze flicks to Avery and my palms itch. I rub them against my shorts, and my gaze drops to my plate.

“Jess,” Avery says, her voice soft. “I promise whatever you want to tell us, I won’t tell Noah or anyone else.”

My heart hits a speed bump, and my head jerks up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I reach for one of the samosas, hoping it will be enough to change the topic.

“What’s going on, Jess? Is it Troy?” Simone’s tone is as gentle as Avery’s. She takes a samosa from the serving plate, her eyes tenderly probing mine.

I shift my attention to the lilies on the table, afraid of her seeing the truth in my eyes. The flowers are beautiful. Only five months ago, I couldn’t have fathomed the thought of ever seeing something so beautiful again. “No. It’s. Uh.” I lick my suddenly dry lips and look up at Simone. “I need to contact the person you mentioned the other day where Emily’s friend got her wig.”

A relieved smile curves Simone’s mouth. “Sure. But you don’t have to be nervous about needing a wig.” Her eyes widen and her mouth drops slightly open. “Do you…do you have cancer?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s…I…someone I know needs it to help them disappear.”

“But not you, right?”

I choke out a sad laugh. I can’t help it given the irony of the question.

“Can you tell us what’s going on?” Zara sits up taller. “Maybe we can help you.”

Avery covers my hand with hers. My hand is shaky. Hers is warm and soft, the gesture somewhat calming. “I realize you haven’t known us for long, Jess, but you can trust us to keep your secret.”

In the few months I’ve known them, they’ve done nothing to betray my trust. I swallow past the lump that’s hardening in my throat. “It’s vital you don’t tell anyone what I’m going to tell you. And that includes Lucas, Garrett, and Emily.”

“You want me to lie to my husband?” Simone’s tone isn’t harsh or disbelieving. It holds the equivalent of a cringe—as if she had already suspected I was going to ask that of her.

My muscles tighten and my stomach hurts. “Yes. Kellan knows everything I’m about to tell you. Troy knows some of it, but there’s something bigger he doesn’t know. And I need it to stay that way.” Then I utter the seven words that swayed Kellan to my side. “It’s a matter of life and death.”

“I won’t tell anyone unless you’re okay with it,” Simone says. Zara and Avery concur.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly in a soft whoosh. I wish none of this was happening. I wish Violet’s marriage was happy. Wish I wasn’t hiding secrets that could land me back in prison. Wish I wasn’t putting these three women at risk, asking them to lie for me.

And I wish I didn’t have to worry about trusting them and having them betray me.

I roll my lower lip between my teeth, still uncertain how to start this. I tossed and turned for a better part of the night, figuring out how to broach this conversation with Simone. I hadn’t planned to tell anyone else about my past or about Violet and Sophie.

As if Bailey senses I need her, she comes over to me, and I sink my fingers into her silky hair. I take a deep breath, but it’s not enough to chase away my fear that I’m making a mistake trusting these three women. Especially Avery, whose boyfriend is a cop.

Angelique had to trust members of the local resistance group and the Cashmere network. She had to trust the escape line would be able to get Oskar and his family out of France. Had to trust the guides weren’t going to hand the family over to the Gestapo. I draw strength from all of that.

“I know where Violet and Sophie are.” My voice cracks, the words getting stuck in my dry throat. I would drink some lemonade, but my hands are too shaky to pick up the glass without sloshing the liquid everywhere.

I clear my throat. “Before I tell you where they are, I need to tell you something only Troy and Kellan know. But please understand I’d rather no one knows the truth…because I’m not that woman anymore.” I give a self-deprecating laugh because I still don’t know who I am. Not after everything I’ve been through. “Do you know the name Savannah Townsend?”

Zara shrugs. “It sounds familiar. But that’s all I’ve got.”

Simone shakes her head. “Same. The name is familiar. Is she a relative of yours?”

Avery’s astute gaze studies my face, and it’s as if the name slots all the puzzle pieces together for her. “Her husband was an abusive asshole. And a cop. Someone killed him, and his wife was framed for his murder. She spent five years in prison for a murder she didn’t commit.” Avery’s eyes go glossy.

“She had a toddler daughter,” I tell Avery, the heaviness in my heart giving weight to my words. “But she gave her up for adoption to the girl’s uncle and aunt because she never expected new evidence to surface, proving she was innocent like she’d been telling anyone who bothered to listen. She lost the one thing that was most precious to her. The one thing she loved more than her own life and freedom.”

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