Finally, she finished, and he led her out of the house, not caring that security had to scramble to keep up with them. Cashmere was with him, and just because he wasn’t on the job didn’t mean she was unsafe. He always had her back, even when she pissed him off, and not even this situation could push him away. He planned to show her that over the course of the next few days.
It feltlike exhaustion constantly tugged at Cashmere over the past few months, so it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep once they were in the car.
When her eyes opened again, it was because Savio’s door slammed closed. She peered around and noticed that they were somewhere off the coast. Her brows pulled in. That meant they had been in the car for at least forty-five minutes. It had felt like she’d only been asleep for five.
Savio pulled her door open, and she quickly asked, “Where are we?”
“Desmore Bay.”
“Why?” she asked as he helped her out of the car.
“Because I needed to get out of Ellwood.”
Cashmere nodded in understanding. She felt suffocated in her own home, but she also didn’t have the courage to leave on her own. If someone as close as her sister could try to harmher in her own home, there was no telling who could touch her outside.
She’d forgotten how safe she felt with Savio. So much so that she didn’t really need to question him when he told her they were going somewhere. She also didn’t expect him to go out of town, but she realized she didn’t mind it. The salty smell of the ocean assaulted her as he helped her out of the car, and she smiled for the first time in a long time.
After noticing that a couple of guards had clearly followed them there, she felt even more at peace. It had just hit her how unsettled she’d felt since Ivoree went batshit crazy on everyone.
“I didn’t bring any clothes.” She looked down at the leggings and oversized shirt she wore.
“I didn’t either. We can buy whatever we need.”
Cashmere nodded, and her gaze landed on the home in front of them. “Whose house is this?”
Savio grinned and held his hand out for her. She took it and walked beside him up the front steps. He punched in a code on the keypad, and the whirring sound of the door unlocking met her ears.
Inside, Savio gestured his large arm around. “This is a place I bought before I went to prison. I ain’t been here in a long time, but I had a little cleaning service come through once a month to keep up with it. This used to be my safe house.”
Cashmere looked around. They entered right into a cozy living room with white couches and yellow throw pillows. It was clear he’d had someone decorate the space. She walked around the cozy home and gasped when she made it to the kitchen where there was a walk-out balcony. The ocean greeted her, and she felt some tension leave her body. When she first traveled to Desmore Bay, she remembered how much she loved the ocean. She made a point to bring Ivoree with her on every vacation after that because neither of them had grown up visiting suchbeautiful sights. This view reminded her of those moments, and tears filled her eyes.
Finally, she turned to Savio and whispered, “It’s beautiful.”
He tapped away on his phone but tucked it away when she spoke before he walked over to her and grabbed her up in his arms. “This is the first time in weeks that I feel like I can actually breathe.”
She nodded in agreement before she looked up at him. “How did you know this was exactly what I needed?”
“Because it’s what I needed.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly.
Cashmere closed her eyes. She’d missed the feel of him. Not only had she been grieving Ivoree over the past few weeks. She’d also been grieving Savio. Part of her just knew that one day he would wake up, realize this was all her fault, and then leave. She’d been preparing for that every day.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
They stayed in each other’s embrace for several moments before Savio pulled away. “Let’s hit a few stores so we can get clothes and toiletries and shit, and then we need to go to the grocery store. After that, I have somewhere for us to go. I just wanted to stop here quick so I could turn on the AC and make sure they’d been properly keeping up the place.”
“Looks like they have,” Cashmere commented as she looked around with weary eyes. Exhaustion tugged at Cashmere, but she realized that if she wanted the chance of not losing Savio, she needed to put her own needs aside for a while. She’d been so selfish for too long. He deserved her energy and so much more.
She realized she couldn’t allow her life to waste away because Ivoree turned out to be sick in the head. That weighed her down heavily. There was no family left for Cashmere. Her parents were probably dead or too drugged out to even remember they had daughters, and she had nobody else.
Cassydie had tried to come by and comfort her, but Cashmere had even pushed her away.
She had missed a council meeting, and she knew she needed to get back on her shit ASAP. King Ro was cool with giving grace, but she didn’t want to push her luck. Karma was just now getting back to work, but now everyone else had to pick up Cashmere’s slack.
She hadn’t gotten her hair, nails, or waxes done.
She hadn’t been to check on her warehouses or see what was up with her team.
She didn’t even know what shipments were coming in.
