CHAPTER 27 DANNY
“Neither of us wants to leave,” I announce at breakfast. “But her father has traced us here to San Diego again, so we have to go. Gregory is bringing us a new car in a bit, and Cooper, if you can take the one under your name back to the airport, that would be a big help.”
Concerned eyes stare back at me, and I can’t help but think how much I appreciate everyone in this room.
And I’m so goddamn glad we already went through with the wedding. If we hadn’t, we’d be waiting on today, and we wouldn’t be married yet, and we’d be scrambling to get the hell out of here.
But now, we’re together. We’re in this. We’re eating up every last second we can of being together before the world comes crashing back down on us.
Cooper nods. “You got it, man. Anything else we can do?”
“Have fun here at this place and take care of checkout. Otherwise, I think we’re just…on our own,” I say.
I glance over at Alexis, who nods.
Part of this is adventure—the fear of getting caught, the unknown of what awaits us on the other side.
But the other part—that’s pure love. It’s creating a bond that no one else will ever be able to break. It’s creating memories of our first days as a married couple.
I wonder how many other newlyweds can say they were on the run from the wife’s father the first few days they were married.
It sounds ridiculous when I think about it, but it’s our reality. If we want these quiet moments together without interference from a man who essentially kept this woman prisoner with her unknowing consent, then this feels pretty much like our only option.
“Where should we go?” I ask Alexis as we throw our stuff into our suitcases after breakfast.
She shrugs. “I’d say south to Mexico, but we don’t have our passports.”
“Then our option is fairly limited to going north. Or to Vegas.”
She raises her brows. “We could go to Vegas. It might be fairly easy to get lost in the crowd there, and I feel like he’d never actually look at your house.”
“Our house now, babe.”
“Our house,” she amends. “But I still feel like that’s dangerous.”
“What about Palm Springs?” we both say at the same time, and then we both laugh.
It’s a bit out of the way to the east—as in a couple hours out of the way, but it would give us a place to go for the next couple of nights to keep us off the radar, and then we could hit Disneyland on our final day off the radar.
We say our goodbyes to Cooper, Gabby, Rush, and my sister, and I can’t help but wonder when we’ll all be in the same room again and what will be different.
Will it be at Cooper’s wedding next month? Will Rush and Anna be engaged by then?
Will it be this calm and laid back? Or will it be riddled with the fanfare that comes along with both our chosen careers?
Time will tell.
We pack an SUV Gregory dropped off for us with our belongings and most of the food in the kitchen so we don’t have to worry about getting food. We head toward Palm Springs, and my mom texts the details for yet another house she rented for us.
It’s been a whirlwind few days, and I can’t thank my mother enough for all she’s done to help us out.
And Gregory. And Cooper.
It’s a tight network of close allies, and I’m appreciative of all we have.
I pull up the address my mom sent us, and we discover it’s nestled in the boulders of Rock Reach in Yucca Valley, a forty-five minute or so drive from Palm Springs. It’s also highly secure—something we didn’t ask for but we both need.
We get into the house without a problem, and we find floor-to-ceiling panoramic views of the desert out the window. It’s gorgeous, and there’s a pool out back. It’s chilly this time of year, but the notebook on the kitchen counter tells us the pool is heated and ready for our use.
I didn’t bring a swimsuit.
Neither did she.
Sounds perfect to me.
Just after we haul all our shit into the house, my phone starts to ring, and I see it’s Cooper calling.
“Hey, we just got to our new place,” I answer.
“Alexis’s dad was just here,” he says.
“What?”
“He showed up here.”
“What did he say?” I ask.
“He demanded to know where his daughter was, and he cased the joint trying to find her as if we were hiding her here.”
“Jesus, man. I’m sorry.” I glance up at Alexis, who looks like she’s about to cry.
“We assured him Alexis wasn’t here, but I’m not sure he believed us,” he says.
“How’d he find you?” I ask.
“I don’t know. My best guess is he got the rental car company to talk, and he traced me here since the car you rented under my name is in the garage,” Cooper says. “He said he was going to your mom’s place next.”
Alexis makes a face. “I’m so sorry.” I can tell how bad she feels.
“Hey, don’t be,” Cooper says to her. “We’re fine. We threw him off the scent. He’ll never find you where you are now, and I imagine Gregory was careful with the car he got you.”
“I’d think so, too. I think he could outsmart my dad, anyway,” Alexis says.
“Let’s hope so,” I mutter. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“Stay safe out there, you two. We’ll do what we can to distract him.”
We hang up, and even though this place is all glass, I feel safe here. We’re out in the middle of the desert alone. The nearest neighbor is an entire block away.
I don’t think he’ll find us here.
I pull Alexis into my arms. “You okay?” I ask softly.
“Yeah,” she murmurs. “I feel good here. If we just hunker down the next two days, we should be fine.”
I nod. “We will be fine.”
“What if he finds us?” she asks.
I shrug. “What’s the worst that will happen? So he finds us. And then he finds out we’re married.”
“And then he points out some clause in my contract that says I’m not allowed to get married or have a life of my own or run away, and he’ll somehow find a way to ruin it like he ruins everything that’s good in my life.”
I pull her into me more tightly. “He won’t ruin us, Alexis. I promise.”
I really hope that’s a promise I can keep.