Catching Smoke: Ch. 42
Emmalee wakes up in her bed.
No, not her bed. This bed belongs to Monique Delvaux, her most recent stolen identity. But she gave up that identity. There’s no going back. Monique could…
The bedroom door opens, and Geoffrey, Monique’s driver, walks in. He looks startled to see her awake.
“Madame,” he says, nodding. “You must hurry.”
Emmalee clears her throat.
“Pardone?” she asks.
Geoffrey shakes his head. “Madame Delvaux has returned. The real Madame Delvaux.” He holds out his hand for her to take. “I’ll escort you out before she returns. You are much kinder than Madame Delvaux.”
Emmalee’s eyes widen. Monique has returned? But Emmalee gave her strict instructions… There isn’t time for this. If Monique sees Emmalee, there’s no telling what she’ll do. Emmalee needs to get out of here. Now.
But can she trust Geoffrey?
Can she trust anyone?
She hesitantly takes Geoffrey’s hand. Somehow, she’s dressed in one of Monique’s nightdresses, and her slippers are waiting right by the bed. Emmalee slips them on. She’ll worry about the details of this situation later.
Right now, she needs to disappear.
Geoffrey leads her out the door, and down the hallway to the emergency exit. Without hesitating, he whips open the door, and rushes Emmalee down the staircase as the alarm starts to blare. She calculates that they have about thirty seconds before the police show up.
Thankfully, Geoffrey has a car waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. She jumps in when Geoffrey opens the door for her, and slides into the backseat, her breathing coming in sharp ragged gasps.
Her eyes make contact with the driver through the rearview mirror, and she screams. The car doors lock as they begin to move.
With the real Madame Monique Delvaux behind the wheel.
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