Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Then:
Sorry. I’m all frazzled. This is Lauren Holt. Did you see my email?
Her breath caught. Lauren was texting her?
I did see your email. I tried to call back.
Lauren responded a few seconds later:
I’ve been getting threats. Thayer warned this would happen. I was too scared to stay in one place, so I ran. I knew I had to talk to you. The tabloids are saying you’re somewhere in Virginia. Is that true? I have something Thayer hid. I need to show someone I can trust. Thayer said I could trust you.
Rowan stared at the screen. This all sounded legitimate. Who else would know this information? No one that she could think of.
Her pulse kicked up as she typed back.
Where are you?
The reply came fast.
I started driving east, hoping you really were in Virginia. Just crossed into Albemarle County. Near Charlottesville. Is there somewhere we can meet? Somewhere safe?
Rowan’s breath caught. She was in Virginia? Perfect.
But where could they meet? Her mind raced.
Until the perfect idea hit.
Well . . . kind of perfect. She’d been told not to go anywhere alone.
But she needed to meet Lauren and find out what kind of information she had. She couldn’t wait for someone to return back here. Besides, it was daylight outside.
She could do this.
Before she could second-guess herself, she typed:
My mom’s house is just outside Charlottesville. She’s not home right now. Can you meet me there?
Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Then:
Yes. We really need to talk. Vince . . . he’s evil. And he’ll stop at nothing to bring down anyone who opposes him.
Rowan knew that was true. But she still had some reservations.
How do I know this is really you and not a trap?
She held her breath as she waited for the response. Lauren was typing something.
Finally, her reply appeared.
Thayer told me a story once about how you dropped a mic in the toilet during a rehearsal and swore him to secrecy. You started singing “Ode de Toilet,” and he thought it was hilarious. He told me I was safe to tell because I lived so far away.
That settled it. This was Lauren. That had happened, and Thayer had been the only one she’d told.
Lauren was clearly scared and on the run. But she was legit. And she had information.
Rowan sent her the address to her mom’s place, told Lauren she could be there in an hour, and then she set the phone down.
She had to leave now. What should she tell people? That she was meeting Lauren?
