Beyond Chance Read Online Free PDF Page A

hand it
over to the police for me, but I’m guessing…” I smiled.
    Mason already had his cell in his hand. “Not
gonna happen.”
    “Lily and I will stay with you tonight,”
Ayden replied. “We can take you to the airport tomorrow so Gabby
doesn’t have to run back and forth.”
    “I don’t mind,” Gabby said. Her voice was
tipping on the verge of panic and my chest sank. This wasn’t how
I’d envisioned my bon voyage party.
    “Nah. We got it,” Lily said.
    Gabby nodded and smiled, but the sadness in
her eyes told me everything. She was as disturbed as I was about
this development.
    Mason was already on the phone with mom, and
before I had a chance to take a breath, he shoved his phone in
front of me. I twisted my lips in frustration and took the
phone.
    “Hey, mom.”
    “Honey, what’s going on?”
    “I got a letter in the mail that read have a nice time in Paris . I’m assuming it’s from Derek, but
I don’t have time to deal with this. I’m leaving for Paris in the
morning.” Fear had now been replaced with anger, and my mom seemed
to be feeling the same emotion. “But I know someone needs to see
it.”
    “That creep will never see the light of
day,” my mother replied. “Listen, I’ll call the prosecuting
attorney and explain the situation. I’ll call you back in a few
minutes. My guess is that you’ll have to meet with him and a
detective tonight.”
    “That’s fine. Just as long as I make my
flight tomorrow, I’ll meet with them whenever.”
    “Good. And Brandy put your brother back on
the phone. I don’t want you alone.”
    “Ayden already called dibs on spending the
night,” I half-chuckled.
    “Great, but put Mason on.”
    “Okay. Love you, mom.”
    “Love you too. We’ll get this taken care of,
and you’ll be able to enjoy the rest of your summer.”
    I knew there was more than she was telling
me, but I honestly didn’t care to know. I’d never been one to hide
in the shadows or not deal with reality, but this one time, I was
willing to bury my head in the sand until I arrived in Paris. I
needed to feel safe and a faraway location was my only salvation at
the moment.
    “Thanks.”
    I handed the phone back to my brother and a
chill crawled up my spine. I looked around the bar, but it didn’t
look as if anyone was paying attention to us. I definitely needed
to leave the states. The paranoia was already settling in. The bar
in the middle of the floor had several couples sitting at it, along
with a few singles, but everyone looked completely content either
watching the flat screen televisions or chatting it up with the
bartenders.
    “You doing okay?” Lily whispered.
    I shook my head. “No. Not this time. I don’t
think I am.”
     

 
     
     
     
    My phone buzzed and a tingle of delight
pulsed through me at the thought of this new chapter in my life. I
glanced down at my cell as the endless texts from Aaron flooded my
screen from the flight over. The plane had just landed in Paris,
and we were allowed to turn on our devices. Aaron had surprised me
with a first class upgrade and the extra room was sensational. I
pulled my bag out from under the seat in front of me, careful not
to elbow the guy next to me. He’d been a perfect row companion for
this flight. He didn’t speak English so I didn’t feel any sort of
obligation for small chat.
    I’d managed to meet with the authorities
before I’d left Seattle, and they assured me they’d get to the
bottom of things, but what made me feel the most at ease was
walking through the terminal and onto this plane. Poor Aaron only
got snippets of what was going on before I got on my flight, and my
hunch was that my brothers and Gabby managed to worry him the rest
of the time as I was blissfully unaware at thirty-five thousand
feet.
    But now, none of it mattered.
    I was in Paris!
    Paris!
    The door of the plane opened, and everyone
crowded into the aisle. Passengers lifted their bags out of the
overhead bins, plopping them on the