Valorous(10)

“So Stone-face Mrs. Heffernan can get rid of me, and there’s nothing I can do.”

“Essentially.” I’m careful here, because I don’t want to upset her again. “Did you know that when you signed the contract?”

She bites her bottom lip and nods. “I never imagined I’d give her cause to fire me.” Her eyes fill with tears. “I’m going to miss those kids.”

As I brush away her tears, an idea occurs to me. I’ll need her phone to make it happen, though. “How about some coffee?”

“Yes, please.” I fix her coffee exactly the way I like mine. It’s one of many things we have in common when it comes to food and drinks. “So what do I do now? Everyone knows about me, my job is gone, and I can’t go to my apartment because it’s overrun with media.”

“I have an idea of what we can do.”

“I’m listening.”

“Let’s go back to LA and hang at the beach until this shit dies down.”

“You’re serious.”

“Dead serious. Hayden has a place down the road from Marlowe’s in Malibu. I know he’d let us have it for as long as we need it. No one would think to look for us there.”

“So we just get on a plane and go to California?”

“Why not? If we stay here, we’re going to be stuck inside. If we go there, at least we can enjoy the warm sunshine and the beach.”

“It’s weird not to have anywhere to be.”

“I know, sweetheart. I’ll do whatever you want. It’s totally up to you.”

She glances up at me, those brown eyes slaying me the way they always do. “Could I bring Fluff?”

“Of course you can.”

“That’s very nice of you, especially after she bit you in your own bed.”

“She doesn’t scare me.” With my hands on her shoulders, I look into her eyes. “The only thing that truly scares me is losing you now that I’ve found you.”

“You’re not going to lose me, Flynn. Remember, you’re blaming yourself for all this. I’m not.”

Filled with gratitude for her, I rest my forehead against hers. “So LA. Yes?”

“Yes, let’s do it.”





Chapter 3





I’m deeply saddened to be leaving the city I’ve come to love, but Flynn has convinced me it’s for the best. He asks if he can borrow my phone so he can consult with Leah about the apartment. I hand it over to him.

“Do you want me to check the voice mails and texts for you?”

“You don’t have to. I’ll do it when I feel up to it.”

“Nat… It’s probably best if you don’t go online.”

“Trust me, I have no desire to read about my private hell online. Been there, done that eight years ago. Once was more than enough.”

“I hate that this is happening to you again. I hate it so much.”

“I know you do, but in some ways… It’s a relief. Everyone knows now. No more secrets to be guarded.”

“They were your secrets to release or not on your own timetable. It shouldn’t have happened this way.”

“Maybe not, but I refuse to give that monster any more of my life than he already stole from me. If I curl up into a ball in defeat, then he wins. That can’t happen.”

“I’m so f*cking in awe of you.” He cradles my face in his hands. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. This awful thing happened to you when you were too young to understand, and then to have to cope with it entirely on your own…”

“I wasn’t completely alone. I was lucky that by the time he attacked me, Stone had made a lot of enemies. They were happy to support me if it helped to bring him down.”

“Your parents really turned their backs on you?”

Shrugging, I look up at him as it becomes obvious that he knows the details of what happened to me. “Stone was their bread and butter. My father worked for him. They told me I needed to be more concerned about my family than I was about myself.”

“Fucking unreal.”

“What they never understood is that I did it for my sisters. Candace is four years younger than me. If I kept my mouth shut, he might’ve gone after her next.”