Inside Out

56

Richmond, Virginia

Sean left the hotel Saturday afternoon to walk around the neighborhood. She had located a coffee shop where Max had told her that most of the residents and guests ate. The restaurant was closed on Sunday, so Sean went to the convenience store and stocked up on bottled water and enough food so she wouldn't have to go out until Monday, when business demanded she must.

She also replaced some of the things she had abandoned in Washington-undergarments and necessary toiletries.

She wasn't sure yet where she would go when she left Richmond. She needed to decide on somewhere she could lay low and let the search cool down without attracting any attention.

She was aware of Sam Manelli's reach and what he was capable of doing to anyone he felt had betrayed him. She knew he was single-minded when he perceived a threat to what was his, and the lengths he would go to in order to make sure everybody knew there was no such thing as a safe place for an enemy to hide. Her best chance was to hide and wait and hope that his desire for revenge would ebb to the point where other things occupied his attention. It was possible that Sam could be arrested for sending the killers after Dylan and decide that she was no longer worth pursuing.

She thought about Winter Massey. Of all the people who could and would protect her, he was the only one she could trust, but she couldn't bring herself to drag him back into danger. He didn't owe her anything. Their relationship had ended when he left Ward Field. She was on her own, and it had to remain that way.

She found herself fantasizing about the deputy, wondering whether, if she had met him under other circumstances, things might have been different. She told herself that her attraction to him was probably due more to their circumstances than anything else. Maybe someday she would see him. But for the time being, she decided, it was best for both of them if she forgot all about him.

When she went to sleep Saturday night, it was after a long, heartfelt prayer and with the loaded. 38 under her pillow.