“She understands the situation,” Adrian said, his voice dropping into something softer and more intimate. “She is patient, and honestly she is worth waiting for because she is everything Avery is not, she is exciting, spontaneous, and actually fun in bed.”
The room behind him erupted into crude laughter while Avery ended the call and placed the phone on the table as if it might burn her skin.
She sat there for a long time without moving, without crying, and without speaking, while her mind processed every word with frightening clarity. Eventually she picked up her phone again and opened her messages, searching for her brother.
“Elliot, I need you here tonight,” she typed carefully. “Do not tell anyone, and bring your laptop.”
His reply came almost instantly, short and direct.
“I am on my way.”
Elliot arrived forty minutes later carrying coffee and a leather briefcase, his expression already serious before he even spoke. He was twenty nine, worked as a forensic accountant in Denver, and was the only person Avery trusted without hesitation.
“What happened,” he asked quietly after placing the coffee down.