She shook her head.

“Do the guards have a balcony?”

Again, she shook her head, and I breathed a little easier. “We have to move quickly. Don’t be scared, okay?”

“Nova,” she breathed, the fear in her eyes making my heart clench with empathy for her. “Where do I go?”

“Use the card. Buy a ticket to California. Get as close to where I live as possible. I’ll have someone meet you and take you to my aunt’s shelter. You can trust her, Cali. I promise, she will help you out as much as she can. Tell her everything and why I sent you.” I told her the safe word that the person who would meet her would know and for her not to go with anyone else but the person I sent. “From there, it’s all up to you.”

Aunt Gracie would help Cali as she did all the abused women who showed up at her shelter. She would get Cali medical assistance—and mental help if she needed it. Aunt Gracie had the means to get a new identity for anyone who came to her in need and to help them start a completely different life. Anywhere they wanted.

I gave Cali another hug and then opened the door to the small balcony. It was narrow out there, but there was plenty of room for what I needed to do. Climbing onto the stone railing, I hoisted myself up to the balcony above and prayed Cali was right and no one was in that room. One of the good things about New York City, no one ever looked up from their phones or where they were going. No one cared what was going on outside their own personal world, so I didn’t have to worry that someone would suddenly look up and see me hanging from a balcony and think I was going to jump.

Once I was on the balcony above, I made sure the sliding door was unlocked and pushed it open, confirming the room was empty before reaching down and helping Cali up.

We exited the room, and I sent her down the stairs while I took the elevator back to the mall entrance level. Instead of taking the same back route—because I wasn’t confident I could get in the way I’d gone out—I walked in through the front door, pretending like nothing was amiss. The associate was helping someone else, and the guard didn’t even blink when he saw me walking toward the mirrors behind Bennie.

The guard was too smart not to know I’d snuck out, and that intelligence was what would keep his mouth shut. If Ryan found out the guard had allowed me out of his sight when he should have been watching my every move, he wouldn’t be able to walk come morning.

“That dress is nice,” Bennie commented, looking up from his phone as I studied myself in the mirror. “Ryan will definitely like it.”

I turned from every angle, admiring the way the dress fit me. “You think so?”