I understand your hesitance to reveal your whereabouts. If you change your mind, I’ll do my best to see that you stay safe.

—

Safe. Now there was a feeling she hadn’t felt since leaving Chicago. Not until last night when wrapped in Gabe’s arms. She shook her head. Not going there.

She wasn’t going anywhere, it seemed. Until and unless Spyros was caught, she needed to stay put and stay quiet. Here in Alaska.

Maybe for a long, long time.

As she fought back tears, the laptop’s screensaver came on. Fractal patterns appeared, grew, and dissolved, chaos in action. The story of her life these days.

Eff-it-all.

She pulled in a breath. All right then. It was time to get the contents of her Chicago apartment packed up and stored. Maybe Dennison could help with that.

And then?

She couldn’t keep taking Dante’s charity, and face it, charity was what it was. The waitress job brought in cash, but would it last after tourist season was over?

The freelance online research could bring in enough to survive on, but she’d have to use the internet for hours every day. There was no way she could justify sitting here, taking up a table all day.

After packing away her laptop and papers, she pulled on her denim jacket and waited for a lull at the counter.

“Sarah?”

The woman turned away from refilling the pastry display. “More coffee?”

“Uh, no, I don’t need more to drink—and that’s why I wanted to talk with you.” Darn it, why was it so easy to answer research questions and so difficult to talk with people any other time? “I know you have free internet, and I need the internet. But I can’t drink coffee all day long. Is there a way I could simply pay for the use?”

Sarah let out a pleased laugh. “And here Gabe said honest people were rarer than rattlesnakes in Alaska.”

Audrey stiffened. She was one of those people who’d lied to him. “Um…”

“I’d be delighted to work something out rather than you wasting perfectly good coffee.”

Apparently, Sarah had noticed how many of Audrey’s half-full cups were abandoned.

Audrey winced. “You make wonderful coffee. I just can’t drink more than a couple of cups a day.”

“Let me talk with Uriah and get back to you with some figures.”

“Perfect.”

“I take it you’re going to stay in Rescue for a while?” Sarah leaned on the counter, ready to chat.

“Um. Yes. Rescue is a quite attractive location. The populace is pleasant. Congenial.” And she sounded like an idiot—a well-read idiot. Audrey took an awkward step back. Small talk was so out of her comfort zone. “I should go”—bang my head on the pavement—“pick up my car. Let me know about the internet.”

“Of course.” Sarah’s cheeks dimpled, but her voice was even.

Audrey fled.