She sighed with contentment and relaxed into him. This was heaven. He smiled, imagining a life for the two of them. Thoughts of having her with him always made his heart sing with possibilities and joy.
He smiled. The first step in their life together would be New Orleans. And she’d said yes.
Chapter 24
Bonnie
Bonnie stared at her red duffle-bag and sighed. She was packing for their trip and was already done in less than two minutes. All of her clothes, the nice ones at least, were already packed. She had managed to find a skirt under one of the bags with her pictures albums in her trunk, but that was it.
She felt woefully under-dressed for the trip, but there wasn't much she could do about. The closest mall was almost an hour away, and she didn't feel comfortable with the idea of going to a crowded, public place like that. She wished she'd gone through with her idea to buy some clothes online.
Anxiety gripped at her throat. She took a deep breath and then started pacing her small room.
It was the trip. She was anxious about traveling. She wanted to be with Dylan. That part of the trip she was looking forward to. She was looking forward to having him all to herself and the idea of sharing a hotel room.
No, it was the airport, the airplane, the city, the people. They were going to New Orleans. It was way further East than she wanted to go. It was a big city. There were people there that might say something to the Trio.
She'd called Detective Patton and told him she was going. She half wanted him to talk her out of it, but he said to go. The Trio didn't have a presence in New Orleans. As far as organized crime went, the Trio was small potatoes. It was why Brett's testimony was so important. They could shut down the Trio before they became a significant threat.
But, just because they were small didn't make them any less dangerous, just less likely to have agents in other cities.
She sighed and fiddled with the hairband on her wrist. She'd spent the last month avoiding big cities, and here she was packing to go to one. It felt weird. It felt dangerous.
Her burner phone began to buzz. Every time it rang, her stomach dropped and today was no different. If anything her stomach dro
pped further today.
The number displayed Detective Patton.
Her throat closed and she nearly dropped the phone. Worst case scenarios rushed through her mind. Her brother was dead. They'd found him. They'd found her. She had to run.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Bonnie. It's Patton.” He sounded calm, but that was his default setting. “I wanted to be the one to tell you.”
Her breath came in short gasps. “Tell me.”
“The trial date's been set,” Detective Patton informed her.
It took a moment for the words to sink in. It wasn't bad news. It was just news. Her brain stuttered to a stop, and she let out a giant sigh of relief. Her brother was fine.
“That's it?” she asked. Her legs gave out as she sat down hard on the bed. She had been ready for the worst.
“It'll be on the third,” Patton replied. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah.” She nodded and lay back on the bed. Her heart was still jumping out of her skin like a cartoon character. “Do I need to be there?”
“No. In fact, I'd recommend you stay far, far away,” the detective told her. “You aren't taking the stand, so we don't want you near it. Your brother will be fine. I know you'd like to give emotional support, but it's better if you stay safe.”
“Okay.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Thank you for letting me know. Is Brett doing okay?”
“He's great. He said to tell you that he's officially applying for the academy next year,” Patton replied with a laugh. “I think he likes hanging out with cops all day.”
She chuckled. “Watch, he'll get a job out of being a murder witness. That would be just like him.”
“How are you doing?” Patton asked.
“I'm good.” She meant it too. “I really like it here.”