Chapter 22
Panic threatened to consume me. Things were spiraling out of control. Jacob was in jail, and Hailey was figuring things out.
The thought of running was tempting. I had enough money to get away—far away. I wouldn’t be living comfortably on the remainder, but I’d be living. Until he found me.
Pulling in a shaky breath, I moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a sparkling water. The click-hiss when I popped the tab was a hint of normalcy. I leaned against the counter and lifted the ice-cold beverage to my lips.
While I drank, my mind continued to swirl. Running wasn’t my only option. I could still fix this. I just had to keep my head.
I’d wanted to resolve this issue without resorting to violence.
Not that I had an aversion to violence. I had served in my country’s military before coming here, and I’d learned to distance myself from the guilt of taking a life.
But that didn’t change the fact that violence was messy and would call more attention to this situation than I desired.
Instead, I’d given Hailey several chances to relocate—four, if you counted siccing that hothead on her—but she hadn’t even left the county.
Even the computer stunt had only slowed her down a couple of days.
I’d hoped to do more damage, but that fool security guard had the police on their way before we knocked him out.
I’d barely had time to do anything before we had to flee the building.
Even so, the breach should have set her back substantially and earned her a reprimand or worse. No such luck. But at least my backdoor access to her email account hadn’t been discovered. Though she’d switched computers, I could still see her communication.
The email she’d just sent let me know my time was quickly running out. If I valued my life, I needed to act. No more warnings, no more chances.
I had to get rid of Hailey before she exposed me. I needed her gone.
Today.