Page 34 of One to Hold (One to Hold 1)

Bolstered by the idea, I crept to my door and unlocked it. It was ten. Elaine would be two hours into her drive if she’d gotten on the road by eight like she’d said she would. It gave me just enough time to try and investigate. I waited, listening. My end of the giant mansion was completely quiet.

I crept down the hallway to the main staircase, but a voice made me jump straight up. A little squeal leaped from my throat before I could stop it.

“Are you ready for breakfast, ma’am?” Mrs. Widlow.

“N-no,” I said, my heart hammering in my chest. “I mean… Thank you. Is Mr. Reynolds at breakfast?”

Her stern face didn’t even acknowledge my fright. Her grey hair was coiffed in its usual helmet, and today she wore olive green. “Mr. Reynolds has already left for the office.”

“Of course,” I said, pushing my long dark curls back. “It’s ten.”

I could breathe easily. And I’d be gone before he even returned home. Even better, his personal computer would be sitting in his office unguarded.

“I am hungry,” I said quickly. “Would you please see if I could get eggs benedict?” I hoped a complicated breakfast order would buy me some time.

“Of course,” the woman said, turning on her heel.

I watched her walk away a moment before quietly dashing down the main stairs and sneaking to the small room behind them at the bottom.

The door to Sloan’s private office was unlocked, and I hurried around his large desk, opening his notebook computer. The chances of him leaving anything where I might find it were slim to none. He would expect me to search—especially after last night. He would anticipate me going through his things, trying to find out what he was doing. Still, I opened his inbox, quickly scrolling through all the messages, looking for anything, any kind of lead.

Nothing seemed suspicious. It was all travel arrangements, appointments, luncheons, and follow up messages. My heart beat painfully hard. I was running out of time. Mrs. Widlow would be looking for me for breakfast, and this might be my only chance to access this room alone before Elaine arrived. Not only that, I had to make sure I had everything I needed before Elaine did appear. I was never returning to this house again once I left it.

I sat and stared at the computer several minutes trying to think like my soon-to-be ex-husband. He probably had it all on his phone. My shoulders dropped in defeat. But wait! I realized if it was on his smart phone, there ought to be a corresponding email address. And it was possible it might be an online mail provider…

Opening his browser again, I went to the history file and looked for recent mail programs. Hal had picked me up at the airport, so whoever he’d used had been tracking me as recently as that date. I found a link to an Internet mail site and clicked on it, opening a window filled with messages.

My throat closed when I saw the list of names, the numbers, the dates. It was all here—the escort services, the hotel rooms, all over the country… All of it.

For a moment, I only stared stupidly as the tears flooded my eyes. The enormity of his betrayal left me weak and wounded. There were so many.

How had I been so trusting? How had I been such a fool? Years of lies, and I’d never suspected.

With a deep breath, I touched my tears away. This was my past. I didn’t have to carry this with me, and Derek had shown me love was waiting in my future. Taking another cleansing breath, I realized this was also a gift in disguise. It was the insurance I needed, the backup that transformed what happened from being his word against mine into cold, hard facts. Now I had evidence.

I slid the mouse and clicked the printer icon. Twenty verified transactions later, I didn’t want to know any more. It was enough. With these and the other items in my possession, I was sure my case was solid. I had enough to make my soon-to-be ex-husband cooperate. Now all I needed was the name of Sloan’s helper. Whoever it was would have to be moved by the physical evidence of my husband’s abuse and betrayal. And if he wasn’t, well, maybe it didn’t even matter anymore.

I was still scrolling when my eyes landed on the name, and I felt all the blood drain from my face. My hand slid from the mouse, taking my strength with it. I couldn’t breathe.

There it was, the name of the person tracking me for my husband, [email protected]

Chapter 14 – Off the Record

My vibrating phone roused me. I’d sat with my forehead on Sloan’s desk for minutes that felt like hours. In one line of text, all the life had gone from my body. My warm light was snuffed out.

I should be crying. The little flicker of hope I’d held so dearly all these days had been cruelly extinguished, and I was left shivering in the cold darkness alone. My entire body braced for the breakdown, but it never came. Only quiet sadness held me unable to move.

The vibrating started again, and finally I lifted my hand to check it. Elaine’s face and number blinked at me, but I only stared at her. I couldn’t seem to care. I wanted to slide under the desk and stay there forever. Still, my friend persisted.

And even with all the hope sucked out of my life, I knew if she were here, she’d say all the right things. I had to get up. I had to get out of this place and go to the new life I’d been working so hard to establish. Once I was there, I could break down, but not while I was still in this place of danger.

Before I left, however, something in me wanted this last bit of evidence, this last piece of betrayal. I moved the mouse over the print icon and clicked, waiting as the email printed out, not even reading it.

I left Sloan’s office quieter and far slower than when I’d entered. I walked down the passage and climbed the stairs to my room before I pressed the button to call my best friend back.

“Melissa!” Elaine’s voice was frantic when she answered. “I’ve been so worried. I couldn’t even sleep.”

“Where are you?” I managed to ask through the thickness in my throat.