Page 49 of Chance
Despite my meltdown the night before and my aching throat, I was upbeat when I pulled into my parking spot outside the apartment building.Vaughn had given me a task, and I wasn’t going to let him down.He probably expected me to lose interest and continue on with my life as if nothing had happened.I was going to surprise the heck out of him and succeed.
I was so lost in thought, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings as I unlocked my front door.When I heard loud giggling behind me, I startled and turned my head to find someone stepping out of my next-door neighbor’s apartment.I’d seen the woman around a couple of times, usually when she was on her way to or from work.Her blond hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail, her scrubs hugging her perfect body.Sammy had commented on the woman’s ass more than once, but I still didn’t understand how she could think this person had a better ass than she did.
My neighbor wasn’t alone.Another woman stepped out of her apartment with her, and my stomach dropped when I recognized her.Rory.
When she noticed me at my door, the giggling abruptly cut off, and I heard my neighbor whisper something that made Rory smirk at me.Remembering my panic attack the night before, knowing that every single one of my neighbors had been witness to my meltdown, I felt my face flood with embarrassed heat.Chance’s mom smirking like that, when she and, no doubt, the whole town were now aware of my mental health, felt like a gut punch.
Determined to ignore them, and the hurt bubbling inside me, I pushed my door open.Throwing my purse on the couch, I went straight to the bedroom for my laptop to start researching.But then I remembered that Vaughn was a dark-web king.He would know exactly what I was planning.
Shrugging, because it wasn’t going to be a secret between us, I got to work.
Trafficked survivors, whether they had a family to return to or not, deserved a safe space to call their own until they figured out the next steps in their lives.Not a temporary stop, but a place where they could feel truly safe after the nightmares they had already been forced to survive.
Somewhere like Sanctuary, but specifically catering to helping survivors heal after those traumas.I would need more than one location.Trafficking happened globally.Vaughn had been correct in saying there was no way to completely shut it down.But we could care for those who were victimized by the monsters who attempted to profit from their horrible crime.
It was going to require a lot of work, time, money, and, more than anything, heart.But it was my time, money, and heart that were going to be built into it, and that felt like a victory over William.
I wasn’t going to benothingever again.
Evie
Goals took my focus.I went to work, had sessions with Dr.Cainfield, then went straight home and dived into the preliminary outline for what I hoped to create for Vaughn’s survivors.It was only a plan, a prospectus.I would be funding it, with William’s money.
Which was the bestfuck youI could imagine.
I didn’t tell Evy about it yet, but I would as soon as I got Vaughn’s approval.That felt important.Necessary.He and I had a connection that had nothing to do with our hearts.Saving someone’s life linked them, and now he was stuck with me.No take-backs.
Avoiding people wasn’t my intention, but it wasn’t not either.I remembered Chance holding me during my meltdown.How he’d rocked me against his body.I’d never imagined a man like Chance Reid was capable of crying, but he’d cried that night.For me—with me.I remembered waking up in bed with him holding me like I was the most precious thing in the world.
That was when I let myself admit that I was in love with him.
And it was why I wanted to be more mentally stable before we talked again.The person I’d turned into when I was angry with him was not someone I liked.He cared about me, and I refused to be someone who manipulated or gaslit him.Chance deserved someone better than that.
Dr.Cainfield was helping me recognize and work on that part of myself.William had programmed me, something I didn’t realize until I met Chance.
By the following Wednesday, I was feeling good about the plan.Hitting send on the email to Vaughn with all the information, I left Sanctuary earlier than usual.Evy was going on her first official date with Reid now that she’d completely recovered from her allergic reaction.She was excited about her first date ever, and I’d promised to help her get ready.
Parking my Jeep, I climbed out and was walking toward my apartment when number three’s door opened.Chance stepped out, and I stopped dead in my tracks.He should have been at work, but there he was, dressed in a pair of sleep pants and a faded T-shirt, his hair mussed up.
“Thanks for everything, babe,” my neighbor cooed.To a grown-ass man.Was that supposed to be sexy?
“Call if you need anything else.”His voice was tired.I almost called out to him, wanting to check that he was okay.
“That was perfect.Exactly what I needed.”
What the hell had she needed?
Pulling my keys out of my purse with a little more force than it required, I stomped toward my apartment.Chance jerked his head in my direction, his bloodshot eyes narrowing on me before turning back to number three.“I’ll check on you after I get some sleep.”
“Sorry I kept you up all night, baby.But it was so worth it.”
I almost puked in my mouth.Opening the door, I slammed it behind me.But then my heart started racing at it being closed, and I cracked it.Jealousy tasted like ash on my tongue as I stormed into the bedroom for a change of clothes and then went to take a shower.
Where I cried for ten minutes.
It wasn’t what it looked like, I tried to reassure myself.Chance had not skipped work to hook up with my next-door neighbor.He was in love with me.I’d heard him say it the night of my panic attack, and I believed him.If he could be patient a little longer, let me get a bit more mentally healthy, we could be together.He wouldn’t fuck someone else during that time.
I kept telling myself that, but I wasn’t sure I actually believed it.
