Page 184 of Triggered By Love
Jason took a deep breath and wiped his hand through his hair. “How am I so lucky to get a smarty-pants like you?”
“I keep you from leaping before you look,” she said. “I’ll see you at the airport. I’m almost there. Had a photo op with Matt. He seems to have turned the corner and apologized for violating my personal space.”
“That’s good, was the media there?”
“What do you think?” Avery laughed. “Of course, Alida set it up. He was there to put a lei around my neck and wish me a good time in Hawaii.”
Jason hit his forehead and gritted his teeth. He wasn’t going to alarm Avery, but the entire reason for going to Avery’s brother’s secure resort was to get away from the killer. Now, everyone would know she was headed for Hawaii. Not good. Not good.
But he couldn’t change plans now, and he wanted her to have fun, rest, and relax, and hopefully fall in love with him. He’d just have to protect her and take out any threats.
* * *
The last thingAvery did before getting on the airplane was unleashing the email to Ivanna’s entire mailing list. The message was the same.
I’ve decidedto go public with your heinous deeds. There will be no hiding from the law. If anything were to happen to me or any of my family or friends or business associates, the diary that I kept will go straight to the press, the DA’s office, and the FBI.
Do not try to contact me ever again. I will not be your pretty puppet.
She didn’t sign,because every one of those men knew exactly who she was, and every one of them would die rather than out themselves. The only one angry enough to kill her would be the blackmailer. The one whose lucrative position of blackmailing the rich and famous would come to an ignoble end.
“You’ve done it?” Jason asked, looking over her shoulder. “We’re boarding in a few minutes.”
“He’s going to come after me. I know it,” Avery said.
“We’re several steps ahead of him.”
“What I still don’t get is why he sent me that box of poisonous chocolates. What does he get if I died?”
“He still has the blackmailing of the famous men,” Jason said. “And he gets rid of your potential bean spilling, like you’re threatening to do.”
“Still, why upset the applecart?”
“You’ve already upset it by falling in love.”
Avery felt herself deflate. “I signed Brando’s death warrant.”
“You couldn’t have known.” He tugged her from the lobby seat. “We face the facts, but we can’t blame ourselves for not being clairvoyant.”
“I wish I knew what would happen next,” Avery said. “I’m afraid for you.”
“You’ve never told me you love me, so I’m safe.” He grinned, except to her eyes, it was more of a grimace of pain.
“Give me time,” she said.
“Always.” He kissed her on the lips.
She let herself relax in the last minute of calm before takeoff. She would soon have to shut off her electronics and wonder how the fallout was unfolding. Every molester and their lawyers would be in a panic. Some would be calling her father, hoping he wasn’t aware.
Her parents would be incognito, of course, and so would her brothers. Mrs. Bonet was on a separate flight with Kerry and Finn with a different layover location. She had to keep them as safe as possible, not that she wanted to endanger her fellow passengers.
Hopefully, things would be okay.
Right before she had to turn off her phone, Richie called.
“Where are you?” he asked. “You’re wearing my ring, but you’re running off to Hawaii without me? Are we getting married or not?”
“Depends.”
