Chapter Thirty-One
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Tristan’s place wasas secure as she’d imagined.The building itself was only a couple of years old.His unit was a bright, modern space on the top floor, with ocean views on the west side that weren’t visible right now as the blinds were down and covering the windows to prevent anyone from seeing in.
Coming here was the right move.Any of his or her relatives would gladly have taken them in, but neither of them wanted to risk putting anyone else in danger.
She hated that Tristan was now as much a target as she was.
The guilt was almost crippling.This was her fault.The past she’d thought she’d broken free of had come back on her, and now it was putting Tristan and potentially everyone else she cared about here in mortal danger.
“You guys need anything before we go?”
She turned to face Gavin, who was standing beside Decker in the entry to the living room.They hadn’t asked any questions or made any comments about what was going on between her and Tristan, but there was no way to hide that they were together.She’d been hoping to keep it quiet for a while, at least until her current situation was resolved.Though after all of this, who the hell would care?
“I need clothes.Shoes, a jacket, and toiletries.”Luckily, she was notoriously low maintenance and didn’t require much beyond soap, shampoo, and a razor.“I don’t want to call my mom or Bristol right now.”It was almost four in the morning.She didn’t want to have to explain about her and Tristan, for one, but mostly...
“I just need a break for a while.”
They loved her, she knew that.Just as she knew they would all want to rush over here and smother her with well-meaning support the moment they found out what had happened tonight.There was nothing they could do at four a.m.that they couldn’t do in a few hours.
“No problem,” Gavin said.“I’ll ask Autumn to pack some things for you.”
“Teagan will be happy to get you some stuff too.And Marley as well,” Decker added.
“The fewer people involved, the better.If you don’t mind.”The constant drama and bad news she seemed to attract was demoralizing.Up until last week, she’d honestly thought her life had turned the corner.Silly her.
“Sure,” Gavin said, then turned to Tristan, standing in the hallway.“What’s the situation with CPS?”
“They’ve got a team trying to locate Quinn.And Walker mentioned that Ivy’s apparently called in a few of her sisters for backup.”
“Really?”Cassie asked, surprised.“That was...nice of her.”She didn’t know much about these mysterious women, other than they were all adopted and badass in every way imaginable.She’d love to meet them when this was all over.
Please, God, let this all be over fast.
“I don’t care who finds him first, Ivy’s team, the cops, or CPS.The sooner we’ve got a location, the sooner we can track that bastard down and nail him,” Tristan said darkly.
Cassie wholeheartedly agreed.And part of her longed for the chance to be the one to take him down.
Her phone rang, startling her.Oh, lord, had Bristol or her mother somehow found out— She blinked at the name on display.“Commissioner,” she answered, taken aback.It was only five his time.“Hi.”
“Cassie.Are you all right?”
