Determination mingled with fear inside her. “He can never know.” Maybe Monty would forget her or move on without her if she got away. Oh, he’d be furious and embarrassed that she would take off right before the wedding, and he’d look for her. Possibly he’d give up after a year or two. But if he discovered they had a child, he’d never stop hunting her. She knew that with every ounce of her soul.
“Agreed,”Jack whispered.
She handed him the envelope. “Leave this at the reception desk for me and I’ll pick it up tomorrow after you guys leave town.” They were headed to Las Vegas for the weekend and wouldn’t return until Sunday night. That gave her three days to flee. She’d take a bus to a bigger city and then pay cash for a car sold by a private person. Could she use Facebook to findcars for sale?
“Where are you going?” Jack asked.
She didn’t have anywhere to go. So she’d travel to a state other than Oregon, wait however many weeks were required to establish residency, and then she’d legally change her last name. She could do that as many times as necessary, and she would. Also, she’d have to dye her hair and buy colored contacts. She was curvy, and Monty had always been on herto lose weight.
So she’d either gain a lot of weight or lose every curve to change her body shape.
The door opened.
She stiffened, sitting upright in her flannel pajama set with only one sock on. Jack unobtrusively slipped the envelope back into the drawer.
Monty walked inside the room, the knuckles on his right hand bloody and bruised. “I’m so sorry.” Tears filled his too-blue eyes and his broad shoulders hunched. “I don’t know why you make me so angry. What is it?”
“I don’t know,”she whispered.
He scrubbed a hand through his thick hair. “Things will get better when we’re married.” He looked at his older brother. “Thank you for stitching her up. I thought she was wrong to call you, but I’mglad she did.”
Hopefully he meant that and wouldn’t make her pay for the phone call when they returned to the cabin. Right now he seemed to be calm, and that look—the one that told her pain was coming—was gonefrom his eyes.
Monty moved to her, and she gathered very ounce of her control not to flinch. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his strong chest. “I’m so very sorry.” He released her and leaned back, looking deep into her eyes. “You know things will be better when we’re married, and I know you’re committed only to me. I need that.”
She swallowed. “I need that, too.”
His smile was the same one he’d given her that first day. “You’re going to be a beautiful bride. The most beautiful bridein the world.”
One who would need tons of makeup to cover her bruises. Instead of saying so, she smiled, barely holding back a wince as her bottom lip cracked open again. “I can’t wait for our wedding.”
“Me either.” He looked over at his brother. “I don’t want to go to Vegas and leave her.She needs me.”
Jack laughed, but the sound was strained. “That’s too bad, younger brother. I wasn’t there for you growing up, but I’m here now, and I’m your best man. Everything is paid for and all set, and we are going to celebrate your last few days as a bachelor in royal style. I’m sure Gemma has tons to do while we’re gone.”
“I do,” she said quietly. More than Monty could ever know.
Monty kissed the bruise on her nose. “It’ll be lonely and quiet for you out at the cabin. I need to have the car serviced while we’re gone.”
So she’d be trapped. “All right. I’ll enjoy the quiet,” she said. If she had to walk the twenty-five miles to town, she would. Heck, she’d hitchhike. There were a lot of nice people who lived in the country who would give her a ride. “Don’t worry, Monty. Everything is goingto be perfect.”
She awoke with a start, instantly knowing where she was and where her daughter slept. Safe in Serena’s house. A home that couldn’t be traced to Gemma, no matter what. She was Gemma Falls now. Turned out it cost money and was a pain to legally change a name, so she’d only done so officially three times. Unofficially she’d used several names while taking jobs that paid under the table. Her waitressing skills were top-notch, and she’d no doubt return to that profession after thesemester ended.
Years after fleeing Oregon, she could feel Monty’s hands wrapped around her neck. He was still coming. She’d outrun a private detective only four months ago in Orlando, barely getting free and losing almost all their possessions that time. Even so, she’d kept her daughter safe while having learned one thing without a doubt.
Monty would never stop coming.
Chapter Fourteen
Early Monday evening, Jethro spotted the light on in Gemma’s office as he headed toward the exit. The woman had made it more than clear on the phone that weekend that she wasn’t interested, so he should keep on moving. Plus, he didn’t date long term, so it wasn’t right to keep charming her, if that’s what he’d been doing. Something told him she wasn’t fooled by charm. Yet he paused at her doorway, surprised to see her staring sightlessly out the window at the quiet night.
When he’d been young, very young, he’d thought his mother beautiful. Blond hair, brown eyes, graceful movements. A lovely face to be studied. As he’d grown, he’d learned very quickly that warmth was more important than beauty—a lesson he carried with him to this day.
Gemma had more warmth in her than he’d initially thought, and in profile she truly was lovely. A sense of loneliness hung around her,heavy and sad.
He cleared his throat.
She jumped in the chair and turned to face him, her cheeks losing color.
