Excerpt from "Reilly's Dilemma"
Reilly’s heart drummed in her ears and thumped so hard she thought it might jump right out of her chest. She had to be on the road while it was still light. Gabe would be devastated, of course, and Maddie’d be heartbroken. But, really, there was no other way. Her hands, slippery with perspiration, trembled to the point she dropped her pen. It landed on the hardwood floor with a clatter. She retrieved it, thought for a moment then gave up trying to write a note. It probably wasn’t such a good idea anyway. After all, what could she say? How could she explain herself without putting them in danger too? Disappearing was the right thing to do, she could feel it in her soul.
She took a deep breath, grabbed her purse and dumped out everything that could be used to identify her. A lump rose in her throat, tears threatened to overrun her eyelids. Not now. There’ll be plenty of time to grieve once I’m gone.
Batting away an errant tear, she sighed, wishing there was another solution, but there wasn’t—not if she wanted to stay alive or out of jail. Her only choice was to get as far away as possible—hide and stay hidden until everyone stopped looking for her. The very thought of Gabe and Maddie thinking she didn’t care about them broke her heart. A sob escaped before she could stop it.
For a few seconds, she stared out the office window at the Space Needle. In the distance, Mount Rainier appeared through the clouds like a beautiful mirage.
Had it really only been six months since she’d opened Caruthers Investment Management? It was finally generating enough money to pay the rent. Now this. She shrugged. If only there was something she could do, something that wouldn’t put Gabe or his little girl at risk. Over the past two weeks, she’d considered every possibility and always arrived at the same conclusion. She had to leave—the sooner the better.
Taking a final look around, she grabbed the framed photo of the three of them sailing around the island. It was only taken a few weeks ago. That day had been so much fun. She stopped herself. Could it be used to identify her? Reluctantly she held it against her heart, kissed it then set it down. Grabbing her purse with its meager contents, she turned off the light, closed the door and walked away.
She took a deep breath, grabbed her purse and dumped out everything that could be used to identify her. A lump rose in her throat, tears threatened to overrun her eyelids. Not now. There’ll be plenty of time to grieve once I’m gone.
Batting away an errant tear, she sighed, wishing there was another solution, but there wasn’t—not if she wanted to stay alive or out of jail. Her only choice was to get as far away as possible—hide and stay hidden until everyone stopped looking for her. The very thought of Gabe and Maddie thinking she didn’t care about them broke her heart. A sob escaped before she could stop it.
For a few seconds, she stared out the office window at the Space Needle. In the distance, Mount Rainier appeared through the clouds like a beautiful mirage.
Had it really only been six months since she’d opened Caruthers Investment Management? It was finally generating enough money to pay the rent. Now this. She shrugged. If only there was something she could do, something that wouldn’t put Gabe or his little girl at risk. Over the past two weeks, she’d considered every possibility and always arrived at the same conclusion. She had to leave—the sooner the better.
Taking a final look around, she grabbed the framed photo of the three of them sailing around the island. It was only taken a few weeks ago. That day had been so much fun. She stopped herself. Could it be used to identify her? Reluctantly she held it against her heart, kissed it then set it down. Grabbing her purse with its meager contents, she turned off the light, closed the door and walked away.
