Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 73

73 Ava: Final Countdown

There’s nothing to pack. The few clothes I have are courtesy of Mom shopping for me, and I have no interest in keeping them when I leave.

I’ll go with a ripped pair of jeans and a shirt that I took scissors to, cutting off its holey hem until it looks tattered on purpose instead of because it’s been washed too many times.

The only shoes I have are the heels I wore when they brought me home. Those, I put in a backpack Phoenix gave me from his old school days. Despite a decade of sitting in our attic, it smells like marijuana mixed with

the cedar our home is built with.

-Big brother was a bit of a rebel, I guess.

I have a pair of sneakers that are a half–size too small. I’ll have some blisters, but I can buy a new pair somewhere. It’ll be easier to run in them than heels.

The burner phone stares at me from its position on my desk. I know without a doubt that it has a tracer on it. I still have no idea if the phone Clayton gave me was tampered with; I know I had a level of paranoia

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73 Ava: Final Countdown

that bordered on ridiculous during my stay with the Aspen wolves. But this phone?

I’m not paranoid.

Phoenix has decided that it’s better to wipe my existence from memory than keep me as a hesitant ally.

So stupid, to ever think our interests could align.

I consider reaching out to Lisa, but I don’t want Phoenix or his goons to get to her.

What if my desperate attempt to seek solace from Lisa only leads them straight to her doorstep, putting her in harm’s way?

No way.

I can’t risk Lisa’s safety. She’s too precious. I won’t be the one to drag her into the darkness that has

consumed my life.

Phoenix is sneaking me out, ostensibly to the airport, tonight. I have to figure out another plan before then. So far, I’ve got nothing.

If there’s a tracker on my phone, there’s a good chance that he wants me to make it–at least for a

73 Ava: Final Countdown

little while.

Or, it’s just there as insurance in case I escape whatever ambush he has planned…

Fuck, I can’t keep my head straight around all the possibilities. Paranoia has me in a chokehold I can’t escape, no matter how much I try to think my way through.

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No money. I can try to steal some, but from who? Mom and Dad are out. Jessa’s out. Phoenix isn’t here yet. Only the guards outside are near, and they’re not about to whip out any wallets for me.

I can try overpowering them, but it’s a fool’s dream to think I could take three of them. My training was in self–defense, not self–offense.

Circle upon circle, my thinking can’t escape this trap that I’m set to walk into. Lisa’s the only way out I can think of, but there has to be something else. Anything else.

But there’s nothing.

By six, I’m desperate. I can hear the sounds of my family returning home, one by one. Dad’s heavy, thudding footsteps. Mom’s stilettos clicking against

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73 Ava: Final Countdown

the floor. The way Jessa’s truck roars into our driveway, like it’s trying to announce its presence to the entire fucking neighborhood.

None of them call me down for dinner. None of them

give a shit if I eat. The only reason I even cook is because if I don’t, there won’t be any meal for me from what Mom brings home.

[LISA: Ave! What’s going on? You okay?]