Present Danger Read Free Page A

could see it. It’s wonderful.” She sat down on the side of the bed and kicked off her shoes. “It’s in a beautiful old buildin’ just blocks from the college I hope to attend, and it has a fireplace and lots of natural wood and it’s filled with such interestin’ lines.”
    “Sounds perfect. Is it a secure building?”
    “Yes.” She clutched the receiver more tightly and asked with quick alarm, “Wesley is still in jail, isn’t he?”
    He hesitated then said, “They let him out on his own recognizance.”
    “NO!”
    “Don’t worry, Aunie. It was stipulated he could not leave the state before his trial, and he doesn’t have the first idea where to find you even if he could leave Georgia. Also, there is some good news.”
    “Let’s heah it. Ah could use a little good news about now.” Feeling her grasp on her accent slipping—always an accurate barometer to the amount of stress she was feeling—she took several slow, deep breaths.
    “You don’t have to return to testify. Because of the threats to your personal safety, the judge has agreedto allow your deposition and the photographs of the damage Wesley did to you to stand in your stead.”
    “Oh, Jordan, that is good news. The fewer trips I have to make between here and Atlanta, the less chance there is for Wesley to track me.” She threaded her fingers through her hair. “Let me give you my new address. Do you have a pencil?”
    “Shoot.”
    She recited it and he read it back to her for verification. “Will you send the things I put in storage?” she requested. “The rest can be sold with the house, or if it’s easier to sell it separately, do that. Either way, I don’t want it. I’m moving in on the first, so if you could get my stored stuff here by then, I’d sure appreciate it. I realize it doesn’t give you a great deal of time …”
    “Don’t worry about it. I’ll do the best I can.”
    “Thank you Jordan. You’ve been such a comfort through all of this.”
    “Don’t mention it. How do you like Seattle?”
    “It’s green. And cold.” She glanced out the window. “I’m supposed to have a view of the Olympic mountains from my hotel room, but so far I haven’t seen anything except clouds where they’re supposed to be. They tell me they’re quite beautiful, though.”
    “I’m going to send you the name of a lawyer there,” Jordan said. “I’ll send him a copy of your file and, Aunie, I want you to go see him. Get a restraining order … just in case.”
    She shivered. “The restrainin’ order didn’t do me a whole lot of good last time.”
    “I know, sweetheart. But it should add clout to the case against him, and I want you to have one.”
    “Oh, Jordan,” she said with quiet despair, “is this never going to end?”
    “It will, Aunie. Maybe sooner than we think.”
    “God, I’ve been prayin’ for the day.”
    “You just enjoy your new life and try not to worry, okay?”
    “I’ll try.”
    “Call me again if you need anything or if you just want to talk.”
    “I will. Thank you again, Jordan.”
    “You’re welcome, dear. Keep in touch.”
    They rang off and Aunie sat for several despondent moments in the gathering gloom. Finally, she returned the phone to its resting place and rose to pull the drapes and turn on the lights. She bumped up the thermostat and retrieved from her purse the curriculum brochures she had picked up at the college. After briefly consulting a menu, she ordered room service; changed into a warm sweatshirt, leggings, and two pairs of socks; pulled the little writing table and a chair in front of the heat register, and sat down to read.
    At her appointment with the college counselor earlier in the day, she had been warned that it was quite late to be registering for the fall quarter. One or two of the classes that interested her had already started this week and another class was full. Aunie had felt a bit discouraged, but the counselor had also offered hope. She had said it