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He quickly left, Milo following hilance She stared out theas a black car pulled up to the curb and Silvers and Milo climbed in

As soon as he was gone, her legs gave in She collapsed to the floor and pulled her legs up against her chest, curling into a ball

Fuck Fuck Fuck

19

It was the only plan she could coood plan and she wasn’t sure it would work But she had to try

Ace and Keir needed her They weren’t going to be sent away to boarding school And she wasn’t going to become some criminal asshole’s wife She had no doubt that if she stuck around, by toht, she’d be a prisoner Kept by a predator Her free will gone

But she needed to be s up her stash of cash that she had hidden under one of the floorboards in her closet It wasn’t nearly enough And there was only one way she could come up with more cash to fund their escape She drew out the necklace that was hidden in with the cash It was gold filigree interspersed with diaotten it Certainly not from her husband

When she was fifteen, her mother had shown her the hidey-hole in her closet and the necklace She’d told her if she ever needed theshe had left of her Wiping the tears from her eyes, she stashed the necklace and the cash in a pocket in her handbag

She looked at the time on her watch The boys would be up soon She’d spent all night awake and planning She knew just what she had to do While they were sleeping, she’d packed one school bag with clothes, their tablets and headphones and so held assuspiciously large She was under no illusions they weren’t being watched

Now the tricky part Explaining this to the boys

“So, souy wants to marry you and move you into his house?” Keir asked They were up and dressed in their school unifor up breakfast while she gulped down a cup of coffee She was going to need the caffeine to get through today

“Yes” In a nutshell She hadn’t told theave her a knowing look Yeah, he kneay too ive him a more carefree childhood

“But that’s so cool! Does he have a gun? Are we gonna live in some flash house?” Ace bounced around on his chair

“Idiot!” Keir told hionna want us Besides, that flash house is all paid for fro the law and stuff”

“Keir, speak nicer to your brother,” she adht, honey Criood man”