Surviving the Storm

Chapter 8

Storm

“What time are we flying tomorrow?”

I turned back towards Logan, desperate for something—anything—to pull my thoughts away from Kat.

Logan glanced at me.

“Three o’clock wake-up. Our pilot has us scheduled to depart at four-thirty.”

My stomach fluttered.

Four-thirty.

Tomorrow morning.

That was when my old life ended.

“I thought we could grab breakfast on the way to the airport,” Logan continued. “Maybe McDonald’s. We need to keep things simple and get out of here as quickly as possible. The sooner we’re clear, the better.”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

I managed a weak smile.

“I trust you.”

And I did.

If there was one person in this world I trusted with my life, it was Logan.

Especially because tomorrow, he was quite literally going to be responsible for keeping me alive.

When we returned to the house, I went straight upstairs.

There was no time to waste.

I grabbed my Louis Vuitton backpack and began filling it with everything I would need for the journey.

My phone charger.

My current journal.

A B6 notebook.

Pens.

Two Sharpies.

My wallet.

The backpack and wallet had been gifts from Logan only two months earlier. He had a habit of buying me random presents simply because he wanted to make me smile.

I wondered if he’d known then that I’d soon be using them to carry what little remained of my old life.

I shoved the thought aside.

My new identity documents weren’t with me.

That was deliberate.

Logan had them hidden somewhere safe and wouldn’t hand them over until we reached the airport.

The fewer people who knew about them, the better.

I couldn’t afford one mistake.

Not now.

I stepped into my walk-in wardrobe and opened the wall safe.

Inside was the cash I’d been secretly saving.

I counted it quickly.

A little over fifteen thousand dollars.

I stared at the money for a moment.

Fifteen thousand dollars.

It wasn’t enough to buy a new life.

But hopefully, it would be enough to give me a start.

I stuffed the cash into my backpack along with a miniature makeup kit, manicure kit, hairbrush, my favourite perfume, body spray and lip gloss.

Breath mints.

Gum.

A black beanie.

I paused.

The beanie might seem like a ridiculous thing to worry about considering everything else happening.

But Ireland was going to be cold.

And I’d rather be prepared than freeze when I landed.

I zipped the backpack closed and placed it on a shelf.

Then I prepared my clothes for the morning.

Black yoga pants with lime-green stripes down the sides.

A lime-green long-sleeved shirt.

A dark-purple zip-up jacket.

Nike runners.

Comfortable.

Practical.

Easy to travel in.

I placed everything beside my backpack.

Then I stood there staring at it.

That was it.

Everything I needed to start my new life was sitting neatly on a shelf.

I should have been terrified.

Instead, I felt something I’d almost forgotten existed.

Hope.

I headed downstairs and found Logan stretched out on the lounge watching a movie.

He looked up when I entered.

A smile immediately crossed his face.

I sat beside him.

Neither of us mentioned tomorrow.

We didn’t need to.

We simply watched the movie together until it was time for dinner.

When we walked into the dining room, I immediately noticed something.

Only two places had been set.

Mine.

And Logan’s.

Nobody else was home.

Relief washed over me.

We ate in silence.

Not because we had nothing to say.

Because there was too much to say.

One careless word overheard by the wrong person could destroy everything.

After dinner, we went to bed early.

I returned to my room, brushed my teeth and shifted into my wolf.

Curling up on my bed, I closed my eyes.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow I would be free.

I barely had time to fall asleep before someone shook my shoulder.

“Storm.”

I opened my eyes.

Logan.

I shot upright.

For one terrifying second, I thought something had gone wrong.

Then I remembered.

Today was the day.

I practically flew out of bed.

I rushed into my adjoining bathroom, shifted back into human form and jumped into the shower.

As the hot water poured over me, excitement began replacing the fear.

I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.

Except this wasn’t Christmas.

This was freedom.

After years of being trapped in a life I hated, I was finally getting out.

I was leaving.

I was going to Ireland.

I was going to university.

I was going to become someone who wasn’t defined by my family, my pack or Mason’s lies.

For the first time in my life…

I was going to be free.

I dressed quickly, did my hair and applied my makeup.

Then I grabbed my backpack and slipped it over my shoulders.

I looked around my bedroom one final time.

My eyes landed on my bed.

I grabbed my two pillows and stripped the bedding from the mattress.

I wasn’t leaving those behind.

They were small pieces of home I could take with me.

I carried everything downstairs.

Logan was waiting in the lounge chair.

The moment he saw me, he smiled.

“Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

He took the bedding from my arms, leaving me clutching my two pillows.

We hurried outside.

Logan loaded the bedding into the back of the SUV alongside his own.

Then we climbed into the vehicle.

The gates of the compound opened.

I stared straight ahead as we drove through them.

I didn’t look back.

If I did, I might lose my nerve.

We were finally leaving.

Logan had arranged for one of his friends to meet him at the airport and drive the SUV back to the compound.

That meant I needed to be safely hidden before his friend arrived.

If anyone saw me at the airport with Logan, everything could fall apart.

We drove through a McDonald’s drive-thru and grabbed breakfast.

Rather than eating at the restaurant, Logan pulled into a quiet park.

We sat inside the SUV and ate in silence.

I was halfway through my breakfast when Logan reached into the glove box.

He pulled out a phone and charger.

He handed them to me.

I frowned.

“What is this?”

“Your new phone.”

I looked at him suspiciously.

He sighed.

“It’s untraceable, and the messages are encrypted.”

My stomach tightened.

He continued.

“Take the SD card out of your current phone. That way you keep your photos and videos.”

I looked down at my phone.

My connection to everything I’d ever known.

“But you can’t take that phone with you.”

I knew why before he even said it.

“Mason could track it.”

I nodded slowly.

“Your new phone has my number saved,” Logan continued. “I’ve also saved this number into my phone. If you need me, you can contact me.”

I held the phone tightly.

“But there’s something else.”

I looked up.

“You can’t contact Kat.”

My heart dropped.

“No social media. No emails. Nothing that can lead Mason to you.”

I swallowed.

“Logan…”

“I know.”

His voice softened.

“I know how much this hurts.”

I looked away.

Kat’s face immediately filled my mind.

Her laugh.

Her smile.

Our years together.

Every memory.

Everything we had shared.

I could feel tears threatening to fall.

“But you have to let her go, Storm.”

I closed my eyes.

“You have to let everyone go.”

His words hurt more than I wanted to admit.

“This isn’t only about protecting you. It’s about protecting them.”

I looked back at him.

“Think about what Mason would do if he discovered you were communicating with someone. Think about what he’d do if he believed they knew where you were.”

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t have to.

I knew exactly what Mason was capable of.

I’d lived it.

Logan reached across and squeezed my hand.

“You can’t take everyone you love with you.”

A tear slipped down my cheek.

“I know.”

“You have to disappear completely.”

I nodded.

“This is your chance, baby girl.”

He smiled gently.

“Your chance to build a life that belongs to you.”

I looked down at the strange phone sitting in my hand.

A new phone.

A new identity.

A new country.

A new life.

Everything I had ever known was being left behind.

It terrified me.

But beneath the fear was something stronger.

Hope.

I wiped away my tears.

“Okay.”

Logan smiled.

“Okay?”

I nodded.

“I’ll do it.”

I took one last look at my old phone.

Then I removed the SD card.

Everything I needed from my old life was now reduced to the tiny piece of plastic between my fingers.

I slipped it safely into my backpack.

Then I looked at Logan.

“Let’s go.”

He started the SUV.

And as we pulled away from the park, I realised something.

For the first time in my life, I wasn’t running from something.

I was running towards something.

Freedom.