She shook her head.In wonder.In awe.“Thank you for saying all that.I’m really proud of the person you’ve become.And you’re right.I can make changes.I have changed.”
Her mom sniffed and picked at an imaginary piece of fluff from her crisp black slacks.“I am right sometimes.”
“Yes, you are.”She grinned again.
Her mom raised her eyebrows, giving her an impatient look.“Well, what are you waiting for?Call him.Tristan,” she added for clarification, then settled back into the cushions and flapped her hands at her expectantly.“Go ahead.”
Yeah, okay.Maybe she would.
But this wasn’t a conversation she was having in front of her mother.
She got up and went to her room as she dialed his number, aware of a strange little flutter deep in her stomach, the rush of her pulse in her ears.The nerves pricking the pit of her stomach, warning her not to do this, that something terrible would happen if she let him in any further.
She ignored that voice, shut the door, and sat on the edge of her bed while the phone rang.
“This is Tristan,” his deep voice answered.“Leave me a message and I’ll get back to you ASAP.”
“Hey, it’s...me.”She cleared her throat, irrationally disappointed that he hadn’t picked up.“I just heard from Ivy.Can you come over to talk?There are some things I need to tell you.”
She ended the call and lowered her phone to her lap with a sigh, a sudden wave of exhaustion hitting her.This whole thing was surreal.If Rob were here, would he have the guts to come after her himself?Or would he try to keep his hands and nose clean by using others to do his dirty work?
Either way, she would be ready.
Chapter Twenty-Five
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He’d never lived onthe run before.But he knew what to do.God knew he’d tracked down enough people on the run to know whatnotto do.As long as he did the opposite and stayed vigilant, he would be okay.
Rob took another swig of vodka from the half-empty bottle and looked at his phone again.No messages.Not a surprise.
He’d been holed up alone and staying off the radar since the Mike thing.He wasn’t exactly in the position to use his former contacts now and knew better than to reach out.Everyone else involved initially had scattered after the shooting that had killed Becca Sandoza’s assistant.
It should have ended there.He’d used up all his resources to make it happen and managed to pull it off without being caught.Except Cassie hadn’t been held accountable.
“Probably fucking her boss,” he muttered, wincing as he swallowed more vodka.He hadn’t eaten all day.Hadn’t slept.
