“I want to borrow your rental car, Jess. I just want to take a drive. If they are looking for me, I want them to find me. It’s the only way to figure out who is after me. I’m going to do this with or without your help, Jess. You know I will,” I informed her, and her face took on a serious expression.
“I think you are handling this wrong, Chelsea. Zeke loves you. He would never forgive me if something happened to you. But I know what you are feeling. I will agree to this on one condition,” she told me, and I waited anxiously for her to continue.
“I’m coming along with you,” she said next. “I think it’s a ridiculous plan, and you are putting yourself in danger for no reason, but I also agree that we need to do something to draw them out. Otherwise, this could go on forever,” she said, and I took a deep breath of relief.
“Okay then, let’s go now while the men are working. Emily is in the kitchen starting dinner, but that won’t be ready for a couple hours,” I told her.
Together, we made our way down the stairs and quietly slipped out the front door. We quickly headed to Jessica’s car that was parked in the driveway. We wanted to get away before anyone found out that we were missing.
I drove with no specific destination in mind, trying to think about where would be the best place to go. Whoever was after me probably knew that I was here as a tourist since I had been staying at the resort before, so I headed to the resort first.
Neither Jessica nor I spoke as we drove, and I noticed that Jessica had her eyes peeled on the cars around us. Every once in a while, she would glance in the side mirror, watching for anyone who might be following us.
I knew there was only a slim chance that whoever was after me would find me driving through Tucson, but it felt so good to get out of the house. Tucson was huge, and there was no way I could determine where they would be waiting for me.
“You know, you would make a great bodyguard,” I told her about twenty minutes later. She was a black belt in karate, and I knew that she went to the gym every day. She loved kickboxing. I had always thought she was well-built for a woman, but now I knew it was her wolf that helped with that.
“I always wanted to be a cop,” she said quietly a few minutes later, and that surprised me. I glanced over at her.
“Why didn’t you?” I asked. Jessica was a computer programmer, but I had always thought that she loved her job. She had always told me that she did.
“I like computers. I really do, but if I had become a cop, I couldn’t have watched out for you,” she said gently. My whole world just crashed again, and my mouth dropped open.
“Jessica, why? You gave up your dreams for me? I don’t understand,” I told her. My heart was breaking inside for my friend.
“Chelsea, I love you like a sister. That’s why I did what I did. Once your father became governor, it was even more imperative that we made sure that you remained a secret,” she told me, and I sighed deeply.
“If anyone had found out that you were his daughter, they could have used you to get to him. That, and we didn’t know if someone would try to kill you once they found out that you were alive. This situation proves that I made the right decision,” she continued.
Everyone I knew had been controlling my life, even though I never knew it. It made me feel even more trapped and alone. I didn’t know how to process it all, so I fell silent.
“Chelsea, I don’t have any regrets,” Jessica finally said a few minutes later. I looked over at her and could tell that she was being honest. That much I could tell from her face.
When we finally pulled up the long drive to the resort, I drove slowly past the main building and continued driving the distance to the villa where my room had been. I parked in a spot in front of the door. Jessica, I could tell, was on high alert, but there was no one around.
When my phone started ringing in my pocket, it made both of us jump. Okay, so I was on edge. Pulling the phone out, I saw that it was Zeke. He had obviously discovered that I was missing, and I knew that he would be pissed. There was no way that I was answering that call, but I figured this little trip was officially over.
Knowing him, he had put a tracker on my cell, and if I didn’t head back to the house, he would have the National Guard swarming me soon. I rolled my eyes and sighed, then put the car in reverse. Jessica’s phone rang next, but unfortunately, she did answer it.
I could hear the angry voice on the other end of the line, and I cringed. Jessica assured Zeke that we were heading back to the house, but I saw her flinch at whatever he was saying. I gave her an apologetic look as I headed the car back to the resort entrance.
We rode in silence for about fifteen minutes. There really wasn’t anything left to say. I dreaded having to face Zeke when we got back to the house. Suddenly, Jessica grabbed her phone and called someone.
“Zeke, we’ve got a tail. Navy blue sedan. Arizona license plate JJL5331,” she told him. “I can’t tell. The windows are tinted, but we are only a few minutes out from the house,” she continued.
When she hung up the phone, I turned and looked
