April smiled faintly and rested her hand on the smooth leather handle. “I don’t know if you can still call it lucky, considering how everything turned out. But I love it as much as the day I bought it. My first splurge. And I never had to pawn it.”
Bunni nodded as she pulled away from the curb and pointed the taxi at the airport. “What time’s your flight?”
“I haven’t bought the ticket yet. I’ll buy one and pay in cash when I get there.” She knew paying cash would probably flag her for an extra security screening, but that was a risk she’d have to take. Her April Meyer identity had held up, especially after she renewed ‘her’ driver’s license and got a Nevada one. Once she got home, she’d slip back into her April Taylor identity. She was sure her mother had held onto her birth certificate.
“I’m glad you’re getting out, but I’m gonna miss you, kid.”
April felt her heart breaking. She’d never see Bunni again, since returning to Vegas would practically be a death wish. “I should tell you, my real name is?—”
“Stop right there. What’d I tell you about Vegas?”
“Not to trust anyone.” April laughed sadly. “I guess I never learn. But you’re the only one I trust, Bunni. My name is April Taylor.”
The cab pulled up to the curb at Departures. Bunni popped the trunk while April snagged an abandoned baggage cart for free—my lucky purse must be workingshe thought ironically. The women loaded the bags onto the cart then faced each other. April blinked back tears.
“Don’t say it because you’re gonna make me cry and I don’t do tears.” Bunni held up her hand. “Just be happy.”
April lunged forward anyway and hugged her old friend. “I’ll never forget you.”
“Better not.”
“I feel like I’m going home a failure, Bunni.”
Bunni pulled back from their hug just enough to glance at the purse again. A slow grin tugged at her lips.
“Remember how you felt walking out of that store the day you bought this thing? Shoulders back, like you were the queen of the whole damn Strip?”
April’s throat tightened. “Yeah.”
“Hold on to that feeling all the way home. And for the rest of your life, kid.”
"April—"Shane's voice came out rough, guttural, bringing her back to the present. He reached for her but she held up her hand. If Shane touched her now she just might shatter, proving him right—that she was fragile after all.
"So, the day he got arrested, I packed my bags and ran. Same day I realized I was pregnant with a baby he never wanted." She suppressed another shiver, hearing Vince’s threatening voice that morning when she’d excitedly told him her period was late. He’d told her to ‘do something about it.’ That was when she really knew she needed to leave.
"I came home. I told my family everything. They kept quiet and I went back to being April Taylor.” She smiled softly. “Sort of a do-it-yourself witness protection program. I worked with the detectives, helped build the case, Vince went to prison, and they kept my true identity a secret. As far as I know, he still thinks I'm April Meyer.”
She swallowed hard. “But I know him. He’s very charismatic and he knows how to make deals. He always knew a guy who knew a guy who could get things done. When the drive-by happened, we all panicked. We thought it might be him, that he’d found me and was seeking revenge. That he’d sent some goons to shoot up Riversong." Her lips twisted bitterly. "I felt equal parts horrified for Rochelle and guilty relief when I knew it wasn’t Vince."
Shane's hands flexed, his chest rising with a long, deep breath.
"So that's it," April said quietly. "That's what Kevin overheard."
Shane was quiet for a long moment, processing. "When is Vince supposed to get out?"
April gave Shane a tentative smile. This was where she could reassure him. “He’s been out on parole just over a year. He got out right before the shooting, so you can understand why I was afraid. But, he hasn’t shown up here in all this time. Really, with each day that passes, the less I think he’s coming for me.”
“Except for today, right?”
April closed her eyes. Busted. “Except for today.”
“When you answered my call, you thought I was him.”
She nodded. “I…did.”
When she opened her eyes, she expected Shane to look angry. Instead, his eyes were full of sympathy.
“Baby,” he whispered. “I don’t know how you’ve carried this fear for so long without breaking.”
