Inevitable Detour (Inevitability Book 1)(57)

“Hey,” he says softly to Rick, “we’ll discuss this in more detail when I arrive.” He then ends the call.

Damn. This man is too attuned. He knows I’m just pretending to sleep.

Sure enough, he says my name. And when I don’t answer, he says a little louder, “Essalin, I know you’re awake.”

Sighing, I roll from one shoulder to the other until I’m facing him. “Sorry,” I whisper, my eyes downcast. When I receive no response, I rub my eyes and sit up straight. “Why did you tell me things went well with Dawson?” I bravely ask.

“Because they did,” Farren replies flatly.

“But you originally said Dawson knew nothing of the man you really work for, this Barnes guy.”

“That’s correct.”

“Well, I heard what you said to Rick.” I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “So, who is this Quinton Barnes? What’s your real connection to him?”

Wow, I am really overstepping my boundaries, and it’s never been clearer than when Farren levels me with a look that shouts that I’ve asked way more than I should have.

Still, he gives me an answer. But, unfortunately, it’s the same crap he’s maintained from the day he first told me about Barnes. “I work for Mr. Barnes, Essalin. There’s nothing more to tell.”

I accept his answer. But I don’t believe it for a minute. And in the spirit of my future journalism—investigative journalism—career, I resolve to find out just how Farren Shaw is connected to a mysterious, exorbitantly wealthy man who lost a daughter to human trafficking.





I’m surprised when Farren exits the highway just outside of Las Cruces and drives straight to a middle-class, suburban subdivision.

“I thought we were going to where Rick has Haven hidden?” I say.

“We are,” he informs me. “The safe house is within this subdivision.”

I glance around and say, “This neighborhood looks too ordinary, Farren. Like where Walter White lived before he really broke bad.”

Farren laughs. “So you’re a Breaking Bad fan, too?”

“Yep.” I nod. “I’m sad it ended.”

“It was pretty awesome,” he agrees. Then, in a more serious tone, he says, “As for this neighborhood, it is ordinary, Essa. That was the appeal when I first found the house we’re going to. It’s one of the reasons why it’s now a safe house.”

“What was the other reason?” I ask.

He slows to a stop in front of a very nice white stucco house with black shutters. He says, “Take a look around, Essa. Not everything is as it appears.”

Isn’t that the truth!

I refrain from voicing what I’m really thinking and instead look around as directed. Farren is correct. Though we are in the middle of a neighborhood that, on first glance, appears to be an archetype of typical suburbia, most of the houses in the vicinity are empty, the vacant lots dotted with foreclosure signs.

“This area was hit hard when the recession began.” Farren turns off the ignition and leans back in his seat. “It’s just now starting to recover. I directed Rick to buy this house a while ago. It’s an ideal location, and it’s turned out to be safer than expected.”

“Kind of like hiding in plain sight,” I muse, releasing my seat belt.

“You got it,” Farren confirms.

We exit the Ferrari and walk up the driveway to the front of the house. There’s no one around anywhere, and everything is quiet. The solitude feels bizarre on a nice evening like this. Uneasiness creeps over me. But when I think on it further, I realize my feelings have nothing to do with the vacant neighborhood. My bad feelings stem from an unsettled notion that things are clipping along much too smoothly. Despite Rick needing to move Haven once—and Farren’s detour to meet with disgusting Dawson—this search-and-rescue mission has gone off without a hitch. Now it just feels as if something big might be looming. But for the life of me, I have no idea what that something could turn out to be.

Luckily, I’m quickly relieved of my feelings of doom when Farren knocks on the front door and Rick opens it.

Standing directly next to Rick is Haven.

“Oh my God! Oh my God!” I cry out.

I throw my arms around the girl I haven’t seen in weeks. Haven is also a girl I thought I might never see again. “Haven,” I say, my voice hitching, “I was so scared for you. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

We both start crying as she hugs me back, her much-thinner-than-before frame shaking like a leaf.

“Essa,” she whispers. “I can’t believe you’re really here. Rick told me you were traveling with Farren, but it didn’t feel possible. I thought it wasn’t real.”

“It’s real,” I assure her, stepping back. “And I’m really here.”

I glance over and smile at the man who made that happen. I don’t voice to his sister that this journey has changed my life in so many ways. But when Farren gives me a small smile, I know he sees in my eyes that I’ve changed, and that he is a big reason why.

In characteristic Haven fashion, Haven then makes a joke. “Jeez, Essa, I knew it was going to take something drastic to get you off of the Oakwood campus this summer, but letting myself get kidnapped wasn’t really the plan.”