It had been two weeks since I’d last spoken to Kane. The night I found out I was pregnant was the same night I crushed the phone that Peyton had given me and bought a new one. I could still feel the guards watching and following me, but no other threat was there. Kane hadn’t reached out to me and Peyton was nothing more than a memory. With each passing day, I felt the baby inside me giving me courage to do what had to be done. I covered my stomach, still firm and trim, as I waited in line at the bank.

“Hey, Patricia,” I said casually to the black-haired girl behind the counter. It was the pitfall of a small town. Everyone knew everyone else. Once, it had been a wonderful and charming quality, but now it was nothing but a pain in the ass.

“Hey, Rosa, just the usual deposits?” she asked with a smile.

I shook my head. “Not today. I need to make a large withdrawal.”

“Oh?” She cocked her head, the unspoken question demanding an answer.

“I’m thinking about taking the bakery on the road, but I want to find the perfect food truck first. I’m going to be looking around at a few over the next couple of days. I just don’t want to find that perfect little gem and have them not take a check.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, “How exciting! You’ll have to let me know if you find anything. I would just love to be one of those girls who chases around a food truck on Instagram. They always seem so chic.”

I fought back the urge to roll my eyes as I smiled back at her and slid the check across the counter. She looked down and her eyes grew wide. “Boy, you weren’t kidding. Are you sure? That seems like an awful lot of money to be carrying around.”

“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself. Is there going to be a problem? Unless I’ve done my books wrong, this shouldn’t make a big dent in my account.”

She sheepishly looked up my information on the computer and nodded her head. “No, you are right. You’ve done great business since you’ve opened. I would just hate to see you get robbed or something like that.”

I ground my teeth together. The hormones in my body were running wild and making my hand twitch. I wanted to smack the nosy smile from her face, but I knew that would cause a scene. Plus, according to all of Mary’s research, it was probably just hormones. Deep down, I knew that Patricia really was only looking out for my well-being. The plan had taken some time to put into motion, but today, I was going to make a run for it. I’d waited around for Peyton long enough.

I took a deep breath and put my hand on hers. “I promise it’s not a big deal, Patricia. I’ve been in this industry long before I ever moved here. Where I come from, cash is king. A seller will take my lower offer with cash in hand more often than he will wait around for a higher price he can get from someone who must get a loan.”

“Oh,” she said as her eyes lit up. “Wow, I guess I never thought of it that way.”

I exhaled slowly as I watched the danger pass. It was one thing to sweet-talk her into not sharing the gossip, but her elderly manager was another thing. That bitter woman always seemed to have a vendetta against me. If she knew, I wouldn’t make it past the front door without the whole town knowing the gossip of how I was pulling out big chunks of cash. It was a gamble, but one I had to take. I didn’t want to risk one of my guards picking up news that I’d been pulling out a steady flow of cash over the last twelve days or so.

“Can you keep this between us?” I added for safe measure. “I don’t want to get the whole town excited over the idea and then come back emptyhanded. That wouldn’t look too good for either of us.”

“Right,” she said as she carefully counted out the money into a discreet banking envelope. “Well, good luck. You’ll have to let me know if you find one. How exciting!”

I smiled and thanked her as she handed it to me and I swiftly tucked it into my purse. I had closed shop at five that night, like usual, then made it to the bank right before they closed a half hour later. Everything was going as planned. Now I needed to get home and pack up my things. My phone rang and I quickly answered it as I got into my car.

“Hey,” Said Mary in a chipper tone. “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Yep. I am going home to get a few things and then I’ll be over. We haven’t done a movie night in months. I need to just get drunk and forget about my problems.”

She laughed. “All right, I’ll see you in a few hours. I’m going to the liquor store now.”

“Great!” I happily said before hanging up.

My heart sank a little at the deception, but it was the only way. I’d watched my guards. Ever since they’d found out that I knew about them, they were less discreet. None of them ever approached me, but I could see them looking out for any dangers around me from a distance. The only time they ever took a break was when I was with Mary. They must have done a thorough background check on her before letting their guard down.

As soon as I parked my car at her house, they would disperse and do whatever it was that bodyguards did in their off time. Probably checking in with Kane or even Peyton. I hadn’t heard from him, and it broke my heart, but I pushed through. There was too much at stake for me to let my heart control what happened next.

I milled around inside my house for a while. I’d had my bag packed for almost a week now. The only thing that I’d needed was the opportunity and the money. Now I had both. After an hour, I gathered up my things and went through the house. I shut off each light, trying not to let my emotions take control as I realized I was leaving my home for the last time again. A new start would do me good, or at least that’s what I forced myself to believe.

I reached the front door. Carefully locking the door behind me, I made a mental note of the man on the motorcycle positioned down the road in a turnoff that I would pass to get to Mary’s house. There were normally two of them. As I drove away, I saw the other one waiting for me just as I pulled into Mary’s driveway downtown. The two men disappeared as I slipped into her house.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. I just don’t feel very good. I thought it was just the baby at first, but now it’s starting to feel more like a cold.”

“Uh oh. Do you think you need to go see a doctor?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No. I think I just have a little flu. I don’t want to ruin our night, but I think I’m going to run to the store and grab something for my stomach.”

“Sure,” she said, a little concerned. “Just give me a few minutes to get dinner in the oven and I will come with you.”

“No!” I said adamantly. “You already have dinner started. Finish it up, and by the time I get back, we’ll be able to eat and gorge ourselves on monster movies all night.”

“All right,” she said, still sounding unsure. “If you say so.”

“I do,” I whispered. I couldn’t let myself get caught up in an emotional farewell. If I did, then she would know that something was wrong. I needed to make everything look like it was just me running out to the store. Once she expected me back, I would already have some distance between us.

“I will see you in a few. Do you need anything?” I asked, choking back the waterworks.

She shook her head. “Nope! I think we are good.”

“All right,” I said as I slipped out the door.

I got into my car and headed in the direction of the highway. I hated myself for leaving and even more for sneaking away in the middle of the night like that, but there wasn’t any other way. Once I reached a steady speed, I looked down and set the alarm on my phone. I’d have to call Mary in less than an hour and tell her I wasn’t coming back. Kane had people tracking my phone and calls, so once I placed that call, I would officially be on the run again. Word would spread, and before long, Collins would know that I didn’t have any more protection. I would be a fugitive again.