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Chapter 5

Last night wasn’t a ot up at the butt crack of dawn and drove to the airport after saying goodbye to her parents and while she dozed on and off on the rather quick flight Last night was different and ended a bit weirdly, but it wasn’t aher off without hi to stress over that, because her neurotic brain would soatively on her

And what that beautifulto tarnish

Before she’d boarded the plane, she’d given Anna a quick update She didn’t go into details, much to her friend’s displeasure, but she did ask Anna if she had told hiotten her answer from Anna

As far as Anna could remember, she hadn’t told him her last name

That was incredibly bizarre, but she didn’t have the brain space to really stress over that at the h She could tell thisa bad life choice Maybe her decision to take this nursing job in a state a thousand e mistake Who knew? But it wasshe’d ever done

Well, last night was probably a close second

But the farthest she’d been froht to Cleveland with her ex, Ada a job that required her to move, even if it was temporarily, to a small town she’d never heard of outside of New Orleans was literally the opposite of what she’d typically do

The town didn’t even sound like it had a real naave a little shake of her head as she rode the escalator to baggage, where, according to a Mr Besson, she’d meet the driver ould take her to the house Mr Besson had flat-out refused to allow her to rent a car, clai GPS

Reassuring to know

If Mr Besson hadn’t been vetted through the agency, she’d be worried that she was about to hand deliver herself on a silver platter to a serial killer

She dragged in the musty scent that seemed to pervade every nook and cranny of the airport Okay, she was still a little concerned It sounded like she’d be driving all the way out to the bayou, which she’d only recently learned was not the saht on the handle of the sae she’d owned since forever, she tucked a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear as she took in the clusters of people huddled near the baggage carousels

Reaching the end, she stepped to the side and sed hard A nervous flutter picked up in her belly Scanning over the men in dark suits with name cards, she told herself that it was too late to worry if this was a mistake

She’d left her stable job at the assisted care facility

Ended her contract with her apart

Her car sold and the s account she flat-out refused to touch since Mr Besson assured her they’d have a vehicle for her to use during the assign, because she had to leave So Anna understood, but her mother didn’t want to understand, didn’t want to see So she never wanted her father to find out

The fluttering ceased as her stomach pitched She wouldn’t think about Ada on the loose, pale pink blouse, she started toward the baggage carousel, but stopped and did a double take Disbelief filled her as she saw JULIA HUGHES on the screen of one of those ginora diplo for her He wore a tailored black suit and shoes that were shinier than a diamond There was no way he was her driver There had to be so the iPad under his araze e?"

How had he recognized her? Unease filled her stolanced around, not even sure what or who she was looking for "Yes It’sit’s s shipped ahead," he answered for her, which was only a bit reassuring "My na you today May I?"

Julia blinked due, successfully prying the handle away from her "Do you need to use a restroo is about an hour from here"

"Yes No, I’m fine," she corrected and felt her cheeks flush "I’"