Chapter Fourteen

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One month Earlier

Brynn Darcy now knew exactly who she was. Not Anna as Trent had told her. In fact, nothing he'd told her was true.

She could thank the nightmare that she'd had a week earlier for learning about his lies. The nightmare had hurled so many brutal images at her. Fragments of an attack. Of blood. Of pain. So much pain. And when Brynn had fought her way out of the dream, it was as if a switch had flipped on in her head.

All her memories were there.

Her first instinct had been to run to Trent and confront him, but she hadn't seen him in…well, she wasn't sure. Months at least. Maybe even a year. Besides, a confrontation could have gotten her killed. So, Brynn had taken a mental step back and started thinking this through.

She'd stopped taking the pills and the protein drink that the nurse, Bonnie, brought her each morning. That had required her to fake being sick to her stomach so she could spit out the pills that she'd tucked in her cheek. And then Brynn had outright lied to Bonnie, saying she'd have the protein drink once she felt less queasy. Bonnie had believed her and left her alone.

And another veil had lifted from Brynn's mind.

Suddenly, there was clarity. Trent had attacked her in her apartment in Austin. He had nearly killed her, and then he'd taken her into hiding. Maybe to cover up his crime. Maybe because of that sickening obsession he had with her.

An abuser , her Uncle Owen had called Trent.

Brynn had dismissed it at the time. She had gotten angry because of her humiliation over the bruises she'd let Trent put on her. But Uncle Owen had been right. Trent was a vile monster who had to pay for what he'd done to her.

Thanks to Trent keeping her hidden away, Uncle Owen also thought she was dead. Everyone apparently did. They had given up on her. Forgotten about her. Erased her from their lives. So had Ruby Maverick, the very woman who'd promised to protect and take care of her.

So much for the promise Ruby had made to Brynn's dying mom.

Brynn knew no one was looking for her because of the searches she'd managed to do on Bonnie's laptop. That had taken some sneaking around. She had waited until Bonnie had left to do her weekly errands, and Brynn had found the laptop in Bonnie's bedroom.

Since the laptop wasn't password protected, she'd been able to access the internet and read the reports about her. Reports that twisted away at her and had fueled a rage that she'd had to tamp down.

Temporarily anyway.

Going off halfcocked wasn't the way to handle this. No. First, she had to build back up her body so she'd started working out in her room that very morning after spitting out the pills. She'd worked hours to regain her strength. Regaining her confidence as well, along with clearing out any remaining cobwebs from the months of her being drugged and kept like a caged animal.

Then, she focused on getting the heck out of there.

Escape step number one: she had studied the layout of the house and the grounds of the rural house when Bonnie wasn't around. She now had a way out—through the backdoor and onto a hiking trail that led into the small town of O'Connor Pass. According to the online maps, it should take her about a half hour to walk there. That meant timing her escape with Bonnie's trip to do errands.

Which should happen any minute now.

Earlier that morning, when Bonnie had been in the shower, Brynn had stolen the nurse's debit and credit cards, and the pin number had been written on the tiny paper sleeve that'd encased the debit card. Brynn would use them as soon as she got to the ATM in O'Connor Pass to get both a withdrawal and a cash advance.

Of course, once Bonnie realized that both Brynn and the cards were gone, she would likely contact Trent right away.

But probably not the cops.

No way would Trent want to explain how he'd been holding her for nearly three years. So, that would give Brynn some time. Time to buy a bus ticket to Austin and to ditch the cards. Then, she had people to see. So many things to do.

She had a score to settle.

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