Chapter 20 Evie
Evie
Sanctuary was a fortress. At least, that was what it felt like when I pulled up to a giant metal gate.
Gracie had given me a temporary passcode to use that opened the gates.
They rolled back with a mechanical hum, and I drove up the long driveway.
The grounds were well maintained. I passed a few women in linen work clothes tending to several different flower beds.
In the distance, I saw ten cabins. A wall surrounded what little of the property I could see through the trees.
And then there was the main building.
It was an older mansion, three stories high, spreading out with separate wings.
I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting a women’s shelter to look like, but this place looked more like a reclusive billionaire lived inside.
Maybe one who fought crime in the dark of night.
I wondered if there was a secret batcave with a hidden entrance.
That thought was playing in my mind when the front door opened, and I saw Jack exit, wearing his Angel’s Halo MC leather vest. Cut. I needed to remember that it was a cut and the bikers got salty if you called it a vest.
A nervous giggle bubbled up when I saw him walking toward me, and I pictured him wearing a Batman suit.
With his thick blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, his beard a little on the shaggy side, and his massive body, Jack didn’t fit the whole Bruce Wayne persona.
Maybe Thor, but that was the wrong comic franchise.
I needed a DC character to put the handsome, albeit slightly terrifying, man in.
Instead of Jon, the Viking Prince, I had Jack, the grumpy biker.
“Evie?” He greeted me as he descended the steps. “My mom asked me to show you to her office.”
“Hi. Thank you. I probably would have gotten lost if I attempted to find it on my own.” I walked with him inside, noting the homey foyer. Fresh flowers in hand-painted vases were spread around, offering a pop of color.
As we passed several other people, all of them women with timid smiles, I felt my heart jump into my throat, wondering if they worked at Sanctuary or lived there. I wondered if any of them had been victims of human trafficking…
If they were my father’s victims.
Swallowing the emotions choking me, I folded my hands together in front of me and waited for Jack to knock before opening a door bearing a gold plate that read Gracie Hannigan. Beneath her name was written: Friend. Founder. Director.
Jack stepped back, indicating I should enter first. Gulping, I moved forward, not sure what to expect.
Gracie Hannigan sat behind a modern-style desk with a laptop open but pushed aside.
A group of files was stacked on one corner, while other documents were spread in front of her.
She looked up from them, giving me a welcoming smile that quelled a little of my nervousness.
She stood with a confidence I knew I would never possess, hand extending.
Her red hair was pulled back in a business-appropriate knot, streaks of gray highlighting the strands she’d pulled free around her face. She was aging with grace rather than maintaining the color. Her eyes were full of life lessons that I would never understand.
“Evie, thank you for coming.”
I shook her hand, wondering if my grip was too firm. She didn’t grimace, but I hadn’t gotten the pressure right yet. Handshakes were weird. Evy told me I should just fist-bump or do nothing, but I wasn’t sure. “Thank you for the opportunity.”
“I’ve got it from here, Jack,” she told her son, who still stood in the open doorway. “Evie and I are going to get to know each other a bit.”
He wasn’t much of a talker. Giving me a chin lift, he started to shut the door, and I forced a smile, biting back a plea for him to keep the door open.
At the last moment, he left the door ajar, and I almost wept in gratitude.
I wasn’t sure I could have made it through this interview, or whatever it was, if I was hyperfixated on the closed door.
Gracie walked around her desk and waved at one of the guest chairs before taking one herself. Dressed in a simple pair of black slacks and a light-yellow top, she kicked off her heels and crossed her ankles as she sat on the edge of her seat. “Tell me a little about yourself, Evie.”
I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, wondering what I should and shouldn’t share with her.
There was a line between friendly and being too personal that I struggled with.
“Well, I’m from Seattle. I lived there with my dad all my life.
When he passed, my twin sister and I decided to start over somewhere away from the heavy pace of a large city. ”
Sympathy softened her eyes. “My condolences on your loss.”
Jaw clenched, I nodded. Telling her that the world was a better place without William Adams in it would have definitely been sharing too much. “Thank you.”
“And you’re getting your degree in social work?” I nodded. “Why did you choose that field of study? Is it a passion project, or was it something that you fell into?”
“A little of both, I guess. Until recently, it seemed I was taking classes aimlessly, with no real goal. And then when my father passed, I struggled with my…grief. My world was upended, and I was faced with a lot of unknowns. It was an intensely frightening time. But during it all, there was one person who stuck out to me.” Tears stung my eyes, remembering Gemma.
“My social worker helped guide me through a proverbial minefield. She wasn’t the superhero in the story, but without her, I’m not sure if I would have gotten this far. ”
Gracie nodded, as if she truly understood what I meant. I gave her a smile that felt wobbly. “I don’t want to be a superhero or even a sidekick. That’s not who I am. I just want to assist people who are going through what must feel like the hardest times of their lives.”
She was thoughtful for a long moment, her eyes clouded with memories of her own.
Then she shook her head. “Social workers don’t wear flashy capes, but they are unsung heroes in many stories.
They get overlooked and undervalued, but without them, I know Sanctuary wouldn’t be what it is today.
Yes, donations went a long way. Our doctors and nurses and other staff are essential, but without my team of social workers, the road to get here would have taken us right off a cliff more than once. ”
“I don’t imagine social work will be an easy career.
I’m not looking for easy. Fortunately, I have the luxury of not having to worry about a high-paying job either.
” William’s fortune was mine now. I hadn’t touched it yet, and I wasn’t sure if I ever would.
That money felt tainted, covered in blood and tears and the ghosts of my own fears.
“All I’m hoping for is the chance to make a difference.
If that’s as an intern or a volunteer or something else, I am ready. ”
“How upset would you be if I said I already did a full deep-dive background check on you?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“I would say I’m thankful you allowed me through your gates,” I replied honestly, my heart rate spiking. If she knew who I was, there was no way she would let me near her residents. Shame was like a chain around my neck, always there, getting so heavy at times it felt like it would suffocate me.
“Hm,” she murmured, her life-lesson-filled eyes glued to me.
“Weirdly enough, my IT genius didn’t find much on Evelyn Adams when she did the preliminary check that everyone is subjected to before I approve them to work here.
But my girl, she’s a curious little genie.
She went searching before I gave her the green light.
Unbeknownst to me, she had a very interesting weekend playing detective. ”
Keeping my face blank, I sat there quietly, waiting.
“Vaughn and my genie are sort of mortal enemies. He did a very good job of hiding your identity, as expected. He likes to think he’s the world’s top hacker.”
“Dark-web king,” I corrected, and we both shared a grin before I blanked my face again.
“I’ll be sure and relay that back to Genie. She is equally skilled, but she’s skeptical of him. Until Vaughn married Abi, I was too. Now Genie and Vaughn are distantly related in a weird, found-family kind of way. Let’s call them cousins-in-law.”
“Okay,” I agreed, not having the faintest clue what she meant. Found family wasn’t a term I was familiar with.
“Still unbeknownst to me at the time, Genie made a few calls and asked Abi to pretty please make her husband share information on you and your sister.” Gracie smirked, shaking her head.
“That’s how I’m telling myself the conversation went.
I can’t represent Genie in a court of law if I know exactly what she said and/or did to convince Abi to share. All that matters is that she did.”
“Okay.”
She leaned forward, her eyes locking with mine as she gently touched the back of my hands that were folded in my lap.
“Only Genie knows the full details of what Vaughn reluctantly supplied to her. I got the bare necessities. Are you a threat to my residents or family? No. Would you make a vital member of my team? Yes, I think you would.”
Releasing the breath I’d been holding, I swallowed back my tears. “Knowing who my father was, the evil he was capable of, you still think I might be vital to your team?”
“Who a person shares DNA with doesn’t mean anything to me.
I’ve seen too much in this world to hold the sins of the father against the innocent.
Now that we have that out of the way,” she said, sitting back in her chair for the first time.
“Let’s discuss the important parts. I was thinking you could start working as an assistant in Sanctuary’s social work department, Tuesdays through Thursdays.
It’s mostly answering the phone, keeping files up-to-date, and helping with a few scheduling matters.
It might not sound like much, but I’m warning you now, it’s not easy keeping up. ”
The first tear spilled over. “You’re serious?”
“It’s only three days a week for now, if you’re interested in the part-time position.
But you would be working directly with my social workers as their assistant, not interning.
I don’t actually have an internship program, although I plan on changing that.
Perhaps you could help me build one, something that focuses on the administration side that works with the courses you need to finish your degree. ”
“Yes!” I half yelled. Covering my mouth, I blinked wide eyes at Gracie, who gave me a soft laugh. Dropping my hands back into my lap, I spoke at what I hoped was a normal volume. “Yes, please. To all those things. This is more than I could have ever dreamed of.”
She stood and held out her hand to me once again. “Welcome to Sanctuary, Evie. We’re happy to have you joining our family.”