WARNING: This chapter contains descriptions of s****l assault that could be triggering to some readers. The descriptions are not overtly graphic, but reader discretion is advised.
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“I need you to come with me.”
I had the good sense to say it in Signa, at least, but beyond that, all sense is out the window. I’m on my fourth glass of wine at this point, and the panic has gone to my head as much as the alcohol. I feel like the room is a thousand degrees.
Jesse’s misty-gray eyes dart cautiously around us before he takes my arm and pulls me deeper into the shadows. “Echo,” he says, searching my face carefully. “What’s wrong?”
“I have to go to the back patio, and I need you to come with me.”
“That wouldn’t make sense.” He looks half-confused, half-upset. He has a right to be all o
