Page 15 of The Strength Of A Woman

“Well, maybe you should.”

My joke puts a smile on her face.

She shakes her head.

“I like my life the way it is. I don’t need any more problems.”

“All right. You know better… But back to my initial question. Can you talk to him? I need to find Callum and have a word with him.”

A battle ensues in her eyes as she stares at me, not knowing what to do.

“I don’t think it’s safe to try to do that. I don’t even think it’s possible.”

“It will be possible if you help me.”

“Miss Leilani?”

I flick my hand up.

“I'll take full responsibility for it. And your name will never get dragged into this.”

“But you must know…”

She pauses before she continues in a softer voice.

“You must know that’s not how things work.”

“I do. But I’ll take precautions. If he’s here, and I think he’s still in town, I need to see him. This is extremely important,” I say, my voice affected by the gravity of the events. “All you need to do is talk to your new friend and ask him to give you some information.”

“He’ll tell Callum.”

“Even better. He’ll expect me then.”

She stares at me, frozen.

“You can’t leave the house without them knowing.”

“They’re napping, aren’t they?”

“For the most part, yes.”

“Good. I’ll change. You get me the information, and I’ll take a walk. No one will know where I’m headed. They won’t ask for me before dinner. I’m sure of that. If they do, you haven’t seen me, and I’ll deal with them later. It’s important for the rest of the staff not to see me, so give them something to do in the other part of the house. That’s all you need to do. Go,” I say, trying topull her out of her frozen state. “And hurry. The sooner I leave, the sooner I return.”

“What if he’s gone?”

“I’ll think of something else.”

With that, she runs a hand down over her skirt and pivots away, still not convinced that it’s a good idea.

Honestly, it’s the only thing that I can do at this point.

LEILANI

The minutes feellike hours as I wait in the walk-in closet, moving a tense hand over the hangers, my stare vacant.

I try to come up with a plan B.What if I can’t reach him? What if he left? What if he doesn’t care?

He doesn’t.