The Billionaire Op - Lori Ryan Page 0,59

home and many of them didn’t. And, yeah, he’d always hated that. Always wished he could have brought all of them back with him. So, yeah, maybe on some level, he’d though he shouldn’t get to have what they could never come back to: love, a family.

But he couldn’t go on like this. And he couldn’t wish to trade places with them because he wouldn’t wish that pain on his mom or Jack or his friends. Taking a deep breath, Chad bent and put his hands on his knees and closed his eyes.

It’s time.

And as he took cleansing breath after cleansing breath, he let it all go. All the guilt and anger and feeling that maybe he was somehow undeserving of the life he had. The life that had been spared. And, he let his guilt over Jennie go as well.

He wouldn’t regret loving her even though he had to face the fact that she might never love him back. Her heart had been buried with her husband. But, maybe their baby would bring her some happiness, and for that, Chad would be grateful.

Taking one last deep breath, he turned back toward the cabin. It was time to take Jennie home.

They left the cabin three days later. Chad didn’t tell anyone they were coming. The less anyone knew about their whereabouts, the better. He still had plenty of cash stashed away so there was no need to use credit cards or anything that could be traced.

They planned to go to Jennie’s parents’ house first to see them, then spend no more than a day or two getting Jennie’s testimony taken care of before heading back to the cabin. From there, he’d figure out their next step.

He wasn’t thrilled with this plan, but Jennie was adamant about going to her parents’ house. And, she’d made a few good points in her argument. No one was expecting them. They wouldn’t call Burke until they arrived. They wouldn’t let anyone else know their location.

Even Chad had to admit, it was highly unlikely that Rick Bandon would be sitting on her parents’ house an hour away from where she lived. If anything, Bandon would be watching Jennie’s house or maybe Chad’s condo in New Haven.

So, in the end, she won. Meanwhile, Chad was brainstorming a longer-term way to keep her safe, one that didn’t require them to live in such close confines. He needed to find a way to step back and let the feelings he had for her fade away.

They’d fallen back into an uneasy truce, of sorts, but they didn’t talk much and things were strained. He could see dark circles forming under Jennie’s eyes again and knew she wasn’t sleeping well.

He pulled off the highway a half hour from Jennie’s parents’ house. He dug out a burner phone they hadn’t used yet and pulled a sheet of phone numbers from his wallet. He punched in one of the phone numbers and handed the phone to Jennie after placing it on speaker.

“Don’t tell your parents where we are and don’t let on that we’re coming. Tell them we’re hopping from one hotel to another,” he said as the phone rang.

She nodded.

“Jennie? Is that you?” Her mother sounded about like you’d expect. Desperate for news. Desperate to hear her daughter’s voice.

“Yeah, Mom, it’s me. Chad’s on the line, too.”

“Hi, Chad, honey. How are you guys?”

Chad would have smiled at the way Jennie’s mom greeted him as if he were just as important to her as Jennie was, but he needed to stay focused on getting Jennie in and out quickly.

“We’re great, Mom. We’re staying in hotels right now, but it’s not too bad,” Jennie said.

“We wanted to check in and see if you’ve seen anything unusual there. Has anyone been around that shouldn’t be? Anyone who seems out of place?” Chad asked.

“No,” Jennie’s mom said, “nothing unusual.”

“How about any houses for lease or rent on your block. Or any houses that are empty for renovations or anything like that?” Chad asked.

Jennie’s mother was quiet, as if she were thinking, before answering, “No.”

“Have you seen any workmen or a new mail carrier on your route? Telephone repair? Construction nearby?”

“No,” came the answer, the tension in her voice clear.

Chad nodded at Jennie and pulled off the road as she finished her conversation with her mom. They talked for a few minutes before ending the call quite close to her parents’ house.

When they pulled into the driveway in the early evening, he took out a new