Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
I appreciate Georgie and Solana helping me this way, but I know I can't stay here long. Not really. I don't have any cash now, and that's a problem, but I'll have to leave regardless. Maybe I can hitch a ride to another city and stay in a shelter until I can figure something else out.
As I consider it, I cringe at the insanity of that plan. I wouldn't be safe in a shelter. I won't be safe anywhere. Not once the full power of IVI is on my trail.
I draw in a shuddering breath, pull the blanket up over my head, and sink deeper into the couch. I'm too numb to cry anymore. I'm too tired to do anything. So I close my eyes, and despite all odds, I fall asleep.
3
MERCEDES
Something jolts me from my sleep, and my heart ices over in terror as I drag the blanket from my face.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The knocking on the front door comes again, and my phone buzzes on the coffee table beside me. When I glance at the screen, I see that I've missed a few calls from Solana. But it's the time on the display that reminds me I was supposed to be up and ready for my appointment.
"Shit." I drag myself upright and stagger toward the door, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
There's a wicked kink in my neck from sleeping on the couch, and my entire body feels achy and stiff. I can already tell this isn't going to be a good day, and the nausea swirling in my stomach really doesn't help either.
With the morning light comes the clarity that I didn't imagine the events that transpired yesterday. I'm not dreaming but instead trapped in a nightmare I can't seem to escape. I have no money. Very few resources. A man who undoubtedly wants to strangle me for leaving, not to mention one who really does want me dead. And then there is the matter of The Tribunal and the consequences awaiting me should I be recaptured.
All these thoughts weigh heavy on my shoulders as I schlep my way to the door. It doesn't get any better when I open it to find an unfamiliar face staring back at me.
"We're late." The woman huffs at me. "We have to go if you want to make the appointment."
Crap. I'm not in any sort of state to be presentable, but I know Georgie and Solana went to a lot of trouble to set this up. With my current circumstances, this might be the only chance I have to visit the doctor for a while.
"Give me five minutes," I tell her apologetically.
She smacks her gum in annoyance, her eyes moving over me. "Rough night, huh?"
The way she says it makes me think she has no clue that I'm pregnant and not hungover. Whoever she is, it's clear she doesn't know Georgie or Solana. She's just a hired driver.
"Yeah, something like that," I mutter. "I'll be right out, okay?"
She nods and traipses back to her car, and I shut the door and dash into the bathroom. Luckily, Georgie thought of everything, so I have some toiletries to use and some of Solana’s clothes. I change into a pair of leggings and a T-shirt. Then I make quick work of washing my face, brushing my teeth, applying deodorant, and pulling my hair back into a ponytail. It's not the best I've ever looked, but it will have to do.
When I head for the door, I grab the house key Georgie left sitting on the console table and meet the driver out at her beaten-up Kia. She's propped against it, smoking a cigarette while she waits, but quickly snuffs it out once I approach.
She even opens the door for me, which is almost laughable, but when I arch a brow at her in question, she just shrugs. "I'm getting paid good money for this gig. Expect high-class service."
I smile despite my grim mood and lower myself into the passenger seat.
The driver, whose name I learn is Nikki, fills me in on her obsession with K-pop for the duration of the journey. Meanwhile, I check the rearview mirrors and scan the road for a black Rolls Royce. When I don’t see anything, I skim through Solana’s messages from this morning and read her instructions for the doctor’s appointment. It’s all very spy-like, and they seem to have thought of everything. I would be more impressed if I wasn’t slightly hyperventilating at the thought of getting caught any second.
Nikki’s car screeches to a halt in front of a private doctor’s office, and she wrinkles her nose when she reads the obstetrics and gynecology sign.
“I guess this is the place, huh?” She pulls a cigarette from her pocket and shoves it between her lips. “Have fun in there. I’ll wait outside.”