Then the news hit.
Ramsey Kelly, my husband, had been one of the ones killed in an escape attempt.
I’d been in shock at work when Dario had showed up with my brother, and they’d leered at me through the locked hospital doors.
We both knew what this meant.
I was now free to marry, and I would be doing it whether I liked it or not.
Four days later
I couldn’t believe what I was doing.
Well, I could and I couldn’t.
I was moving.
I’d sold my house, liquidated all of my assets, and bought an RV that was two years old under a false name. All in four days’ time.
Luck had literally been going my way in every single step of this process.
I sold my house in two days.
The buyers wanted to do it in cash, and quick, and had offered me above market value.
The job that I’d been eyeing for months had finally offered me a position in one of my most secretly wished-for places—Montana.
My boss at work had told me that they were downsizing and that I’d probably be let go since I was one of the newest on staff.
And I’d passed by a couple talking about fake IDs and just…went with it.
I’d taken out every single penny of money that I had, shoved the cash into a suitcase, and left in the middle of the night in a borrowed truck from a friend.
Once I got where I was going, I would let him know where it was and he’d fly out and drive it back home.
Then I’d have to figure out how to use a false name and a false ID to make this move a permanent one.
Everything was working out flawlessly, and I couldn’t help but think that I had some crazy good luck on my side.
No one followed me.
No one called—though that had been by design seeing as I ditched my phone, canceled all of my recurring plans and ditched every single obligation I had.
Neo and I enjoyed the open road.
And learned how to drive a freakin’ RV.
There was nothing like driving a truck for the first time, pulling an RV for the first time, and driving farther than an hour for the first time.
Trial by fire.
The first sight of the mountains took my breath away.
I looked over at Neo, the dog that had shown up at my apartment when I needed him the most, and said, “What do you think, big boy? Are you excited?”
In answer he stuck his head out the window and let the slobber spray my back window.
Nice.
