Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
I went slowly, methodically, room by room, starting with Ben’s space, even though I’d only ever been allowed inside to do cleaning. I wasn’t taking any chances.
It was a slow process with only one good hand, but I managed well enough with some adaptations.
I closed his bathroom, then his bedroom, before going into my old bathroom, then bedroom.
Junior eventually finished up the office, so I went through there, cleaning every surface, then pulling out each drawer to clean them and their contents.
Which was how I found the first envelope.
Full of cash.
Then the second one.
The third.
Fourth and fifth.
Not wanting to lose my momentum, I just shoved them in my cleaning kit and finished up.
Then it was the hallway, the kitchen (including every cabinet and the whole refrigerator) before cleaning my way through the main living space, which meant shooing the boys and Edith outside.
When I was finally done, I was sweaty and red-faced, my fingertips aching like they used to every single day when I’d been captive.
But this was for the last time.
“All set?” Nave asked as I stepped out into the fresh air, breathing deep to clear the chemicals from my lungs.
I glanced back at the house as Nave took the cleaning supplies from my hands—vacuum included.
“Yes. It’s done. And I got a surprise,” I admitted as I followed Nave down to where Junior was waiting, tiny Edith nestled in his giant arms.
“What’s that?” Nave asked, loading everything into the trunk of the car.
I reached into the cleaning caddy and drew out the envelopes.
Junior let out a whistle. “How much is there?”
“I haven’t counted yet. But I’m hoping maybe it’s enough to get some things for the baby. And maybe pay some of you guys for your services.”
“I’m getting paid,” Junior said. “And I’m not takin’ your money.”
Nave reached for one of the envelopes, fanning the money out, and I could see the calculations going through his head.
“About ten grand.”
Ten grand times five was… more money than I’d ever seen in my life.
“Guess we gotta take a trip to the bank when we get back to Navesink Bank too,” Nave said, passing all the envelopes to me.
We all made our way to our doors, and I stopped to stare at the glass house.
I saw myself inside, staring out, wondering if I could ever be free. I remembered seeing Nave for the first time—his all-seeing eyes, his concern, his promise. And, yes, finally, I thought about the day of the escape, of all the fear, adrenaline, and hope.
I knew then where I was going.
Navesink Bank.
Just like I was now.
Not just a pit stop toward a new life.
Now it was my new life.
Full of people who cared enough about me to kill for me, to bury bodies for me, to sit in a hospital emergency room all night and lie with me.
And, of course, I had all those things and more in Nave.
“We’re never going back there, girl,” I told Edith as I reached out to pet her hair. I pulled a small twig out of her curls and smiled to myself at finding it there, at not even knowing how long it had been there.
So much had changed in such a short period of time.
No more obsessively wiping, brushing, and washing her. No isolation and lack of vet care.
Sure, I knew that our future involved moving off the homestead and away from her new dog friends. But we could visit. I could get her a younger sibling.
I could do anything I wanted.
A smile tugged at my lips at that, knowing I’d only had a limited amount of freedom while Ben was still alive. But now, the sky was the limit.
I could get a real driver’s license. I could get a job, rent an apartment, enroll my baby in school when they were old enough. I could get a cell phone and a computer.
“What’s that look for?” Nave asked when we made it back to the clubhouse, leaving Junior to handle getting rid of everything in the trunk.
“I can do anything I want now,” I told him. “We can do anything we want.”
“Speaking of that, you want to stretch those legs out after all that driving?”
“Sure. But why do I feel like you have some sort of ulterior motive?”
“I have something I want to show you.”
“Okay,” I agreed, tamping down the urge to ask him to tell me, to claim I didn’t like surprises.
That was only because, in my old life, any surprises that came my way were of the negative variety. I could trust Nave not to expose me to anything upsetting.
So I reached for Nave’s hand and slipped my fingers between his, then just went ahead and enjoyed a walk through my new town… without my disguises.
“I feel more at home here than I did my entire childhood with my parents or my first apartment,” I admitted, leaving out the glass house for obvious reasons.