“Thank you for offering, but I think I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure? How about I show up there at nine?”
Bree was being too nice. Maybe she should just accept that this woman was nice and wanted to help.
“Okay. I’ll be there around nine, too.”
“Good. I’ll see you then.”
The call ended, and she saved Bree’s information in her phone. She stared at the screen, wondering what Cy was up to today. He was probably busy, and she didn’t need to think about what he was doing.
With Robert locked up, she could go out and do something fun without worrying about him showing up and ruining everything. She decided to head to the beach. It would be nice to get out and enjoy a little nature without fear of being watched.
The weather was perfect, and the crowds not too bad. She found a place to park and did a quick glance around, worry still heavy on her chest. The worry was something she’d carried around way too long, and it would be hard to get rid of.
After a moment, she relaxed enough to enjoy the feel of warm sand on her feet. She closed her eyes and drew in a slow breath. The scent of ocean, sand, and sun was a heady balm to her soul. She felt much more alive than she had in years.
With Robert following her around, spying on her, trying to make her regret ever dating him, she’d grown used to living in fear. Knowing he was locked up was freeing.
The air felt so good, she threw her hands out wide and laughed into the wind before twirling around. She didn’t care that people were watching her. None of them cared what she was doing.
Her phone buzzed, and she saw it was Cy calling. She froze, wondering if he knew something about Robert.
“Hello,” she said hesitantly when she answered.
“Hey, I just called to tell you I might be out of town for a week or two. I think Robert is locked up in jail. I don’t know how long he will stay in.”
She was surprised he knew about Robert. “Yes, the police officer who arrested him came in to talk to me. Said they found disturbing stuff in his car. So they wanted to make sure I was okay.”
“Damn, I guess they didn’t say what the disturbing stuff was.”
“No, they didn’t.”
“I wish I wasn’t going out of town, but it’s work, and I have to go. I have friends who can help if you need anything. I’ll send you their numbers.”
“Thank you. It was weird. There was a group of women I was serving when the officer came in. One of those women offered to go to the station with me.”
“That’s great. And if you need anything, my friends will be there for you. I’ll text you when I get back in town.”
“Why are you being so nice?”
“Because we all need help at some point. I’m here and can help.”
“Thank you.”
“Sure, and stay safe while I’m gone.”
“I will.”
The call ended, and she hugged her arms tight to her chest. She couldn’t allow herself to get sucked in. Cy might be nice, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a monster in hiding. Robert had appeared nice at first, but he’d turned out to be a psychopath. She couldn’t trust her gut. She couldn’t trust her feelings. She had to accept she would be alone forever.
11
Cy loaded onto the transport plane that would fly them south. With Robert locked up, he wasn’t too worried about Willa. She knew the jerk was in San Diego, which meant she would take precautions. But she would at least be safe as long as Robert was in jail.
“Yo, Cy, why are you distracted?” Foster asked.
“Just thinking.”
