“Promise. I will call you beforehand if I need you.” That was an easy promise to make. She wouldn’t need Florence. If she was caught between here and Newark, Florence couldn’t save her. No one could.
“Let me give you the details. You got a pen and paper?” Flo asked.
“Don’t need one.” Gina tapped her head even though Flo couldn’t see the gesture.
“Ha! Same old Jenna. Mind like a steel trap.”
“You know it.”
Florence gave her the info she needed and they chatted for a few minutes about Flo’s favorite subject, dogs.
“Give Jasmin a hug for me,” she told Gina at the end of their conversation. “I love your dog.”
Gina glanced at Fleur. “Will do. See you in three days.”
Gina disconnected with a huge sigh, trying to bring her heart rate down. God, she hated possibly endangering a friend like this, but it was the only way. Flo wasn’t on anyone’s radar—Gina had been deep undercover at the time, posing as a woman named Jenna O’Donnell, and she recognized Flo’s connections and abilities as something she might need in the future, so she told no one about her.
Gina shook her head.Guess I’ve been planning this escape for a long time. Looks like I even kept it a secret from myself.“Thanks for your foresight, Past Gina,” she said out loud.
Three days. She made sure she wasn’t being followed as she headed for I-15. She’d take the long way to Newark, stop at an out-of-the-way motel in the desert first. Gina intended to use those three days to further disguise herself and Fleur. First stop, the Waving Cactus Motel. It was in the middle of nowhere, unmonitored, and Gina had used it once before so she was familiar with the layout. She was sure no one else knew about it, and it would give her and Fleur a minute to breathe.
Gina turned on the radio and caught “Horse with No Name” at the beginning.
“Ha!” She smiled at the appropriate song, taking it for a good omen. “If Jake were here, he’d say, ‘Got it in one.’” Her smile turned to a frown. God, she’d miss him. And Rachael, and Elena, and everyone else. But this was for the best. Let them hate her if that’s what it took to keep them all safe.
She drove on through the cold California drizzle, headed for the bone-dry desert. Fleur snored lightly, curled up in her blankets beside the go-bag, not a care in the world. She knew her mama would take care of her.
TWO
Lachlan, present day, Los Angeles
Lachlan Campbell hadn’t left the office since the tragedy. His dog, Sam, was worried. The old pup was currently licking Lach’s forehead as the big man lay on the office floor.
“I’m not dead, boy,” Lach told him when the dog sped up his licking. He reached above his head to scratch Sam behind his ears, which did not reassure or deter Sam in the least. The dog hated it when Lach was on the floor, and he couldn’t blame the dog.
Bad memories.
“This is how she found me, remember?” Lach continued. “All those years ago. Rescued me that day. Rescued you, too.”
As far as rescues went, Lach’s was pretty pathetic. But it was a rescue all the same, and it wasn’t the only time Gina had saved his sorry ass.
“Not dead, boy. Just feeling dead.”
Because he’d failed to rescue Gina when she needed him the most.
He touched his lips, remembering Delia’s restaurant and their friends’ bridal shower. He should have known then, dammit. But after all this time, he’d thought Gina trusted him—trusted what they’d built together—enough to depend on it for herself.
Instead, she went and pulled this shit. Hurled herself right over a damn cliff all alone to face God knew what.
Typical Gina. Dammit.
Lach sat up and ground his fists into his eyes while he growled. Sam sneezed, unimpressed. Lach stood up and looked at his dog.
“Can’t fool me. I know you miss them too.”
Gina had taken Fleur with her. The two were inseparable, ever since Gina had rescued her off the streets after a mission gone bad.
At least they have each other,Lach thought. And it might make finding Gina easier. Elissa could check flight manifests looking for a golden-eyed, ginger-colored dog. Gina could turn herself into anyone, but disguising Fleur might be impossible.
