Page 64 of Before Eve

“Are you okay?” I answer as soon as Anne shuts the door. “I’ve been so worried. Your emails freaked me out.”

“Thank God you picked up,” Brynn whispers, and then her breath hitches, and the sound of it twinges through me.

“Don’t cry,” I tell her, though my own tears gather. I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve heard her voice since the night she helped me run.

“Oh,” she sniffs. “I’ve missed you so much.”

I lie back on the hotel bed. “Me, too, Brynn. Me, too.”

“Are you safe?” She sniffs again. “Everything okay? Do you need anything?”

I sigh, just absorbing her. “Everything’s fine.”

“Good. That’s good. We don’t have much time. Don’t tell me where you are or what you’re doing. I don’t want to know.”

I sit back up. “What’s going on?”

She doesn’t immediately answer, and I find myself thinking about the moment I told Brynn all my secrets, just weeks before she helped me run away.

I can’t believe you’ve hidden this from me.That’s what she said to me with such guilt in her voice. Like she thought she should’ve known or something. I just shook my head and hugged her and assured her she wasn’t to blame.

There’s only one person to blame for the things that have been done to me.

Brynn breaks the silence. “Now, I don’t want you to worry about me, but Grayson is having me followed.”

I stop breathing for a second. “What do you mean he’s having you followed?”

“I can tell. Everywhere I go, there’s a car that traces me. They’re good. It took me a while to figure it out. Listen, I’m fine. I pretend the car isn’t there, and they have no clue I’m onto them. I just want both of us to be careful.”

“What is he telling everybody about my absence?”

“Oh, he’s good. At first, you went on an extended trip to South America where you were volunteering with one of his many foundations. Then upon your return, you got sick. You now officially have Lyme disease that went untreated far too long and has led to homebound care.”

I huff. “Clever.”

“He’s that. I played along, asking if I could see you. He said you weren’t up for visitors or phone calls, but he’d let me know when you were. Aside from that, something is going on. He and my dad have been in an unusual number of private meetings.”

Brynn’s father holds a position on Grayson’s board, and though he has always been a fabulous dad to Brynn, his loyalty to Grayson runs deep.

“I’m sorry, Brynn. I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with all of this.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I promise. All that matters is we got you to safety. As far as everything else, I used cash, and I keep the burner phone hidden. No one knows anything. Laura, promise me you’re being careful.”

“I promise.”

“You cannot tell anybody who you are and be ready to run if I tell you to.”

My head’s so full of everything I can hardly think straight. It’s been a while since I felt someone was watching me, but I think of that suited man in the Chicago hotel and of the flash I saw in Central Park. I’m about to tell Brynn both things when—

“I think it’s good he’s following me. That means he doesn’t know where you are, right?”

“Right...”

“Someone’s coming,” she hurriedly whispers and then just hangs up. I didn’t even get to tell her goodbye.

I sit forever just staring at the phone, idly listening to Anne puttering around in the bathroom. What’s going to happen if I do indeed have to run? I’ll never see Anne again. Or West.

Sickness sours my mouth as I think about the next thing. Being caught.