Page 70 of Cruel Secrets

Is there going to be anywhere we can go that’s safe? Will Bianca ever know a life that’s not on the run?

I arch back just enough to look at her, once again glad that she is too young to remember any of this. When I look back at Royce, he seems like he’s losing the confidence he’s been putting on since he rushed into the house.

Royce nods, his jaw clamping shut, knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. “It is.”

I swallow hard, trying to ease the tight feeling in my chest as I look over my shoulder at Bianca. “We have to find somewhere we can keep her safe. My friend, Kat, she has a house in Ontario. It’s not far from the border. If I message her, she might be willing to let us use it. She’d be able to unlock it from her phone.”

He stares at me, not saying a word.

“Do you have passports for us?” I ask, wishing that I had thought of bringing the fake ones I had when I snuck out of Noah’s house.

A smarter woman would’ve brought them with her.

Royce sighs. “Yes, I have passports ready for us. Do you think this Kat can be trusted, though? She’s the one who helps you with forgeries, which makes me think she works for Noah.”

“She does, but she doesn’t like him much.”

He chuckles, but it’s a dark sound, like he’s not amused so much as trying to lighten the mood in the car and doing a terrible job at it. “And you think that means she can be trusted?”

“Kat risks her job all the time to help me get the pictures I need to do the paintings. If there’s one person in this world I trust more than anyone else, it’s going to be her.”

Royce runs his tongue over his teeth before shifting to the side and reaching into his pocket.

He pulls out his phone and holds it out, waiting for me to take it. “Message her, then. Keep it short.”

My thumbs fly over the keyboard, typing in her number.

UNKNOWN: Hey Kat, it’s Gia. New phone. Need a place to stay for a few days without Noah breathing down my neck. Mind if I use the house in Ontario?

KAT: Nope. Hope everything is okay. <3 Let me know when you get there. I’ll unlock it.

I hand the phone back to Royce, knowing that even with as far as we’ve come, there’s no way he’s going to let me have an open line of communication to the outside world.

He tosses it into the console. “Well?”

Leaning forward, I pull up the GPS and punch the address in. “She’s going to let us stay there. I just told her that I needed a place to stay for a few days without Noah knowing. She’s okay with us being at the house, but I’m probably going to need to call her one of these days and let her know that everything is fine.”

Royce glances at the directions on the screen. “I’ll get you a phone the next time we’re at a store.”

“Really?” My jaw almost hits my knees as I look over at him. “I didn’t think you would want me to have one.”

“I’m on the fence, but if we get separated, I need to be able to talk to you.”

I nod, leaning back into the seat and closing my eyes, exhaustion finally taking over. “The drive is going to be a couple hours, but it’s a nice drive. I’ve been there with her before.”

Royce is silent but I can feel the car speed up, the engine humming. “We might not make it there in the next couple hours.”

My eyes fly open as I sit up and look in the mirror.

The lights behind us shine brighter as the other car speeds up, its reflection growing larger.

“Shit. Royce?—”

CHAPTERTWENTY

ROYCE

I take a peek at Gia.“I know. You need to listen to me right now, okay?”

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