Loose Ends (Magnolia Series Book 1)

Loose
Ends

Magnolia Series: Book One

Taylor Dawn

Copyright 2016 Taylor Dawn

Cover Design by ZH Designs

Edited by Wendy Garfinkle

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.

ISBN: 13 – 978-1523720231, 10 - 1523720239

Of course I have to thank a few people for their amazing work and help on Loose Ends.

Thank you to my editor, Wendy Garfinkle for yet again showing me that I haven’t fully grasped the concept of where commas need to go.

Thank you to my cover designer, Zee Hayat, you brought my vision to life and I love it.

To Stephanie Stacker, thank you for helping me out by formatting my smutty creation.

To my dear author friend A.M. Willard. Thank you for being there for me through the exhausting task of writing yet another book. I will always be your bitch and yes, you can play with my feet anytime you want.

To another author friend, Brandy Jellum. You rock for keeping me on track and listening to be complain about life in general. 

Last, but of course not least…My amazing group of loyal fans and readers! You guys are the glue that holds this all together. I love you guys so much. You are the ones I do this for and I hope you all enjoy Loose Ends as much as I did.

Peace, Love and Pages

Taylo
r
Dawn

Loose Ends is dedicated to my dear friend and fellow princess, Danielle. This chick has taught me so much about living the life I was given and enjoying each day like it could be my last. You’re going to beat the ‘C’ word, Danielle. I believe that with all my heart. Keep fighting, keep being brave and never forget to wear your tiara!

“I have to get out
of here,” Ava chanted to herself as she stuffed as many articles of clothing into her bags as she could manage. There wasn’t time for her keen organizational skills that would normally be incorporated in something like this. It was do or die time. If she didn’t get the hell out of her apartment in the next fifteen minutes, she wasn’t sure she’d
ever
be able to leave.

Yanking shirts from their neatly hung spots in the small closet nearby, she shoved them into the duffle bag with the rest of the already crumpled clothing. Wrinkles were the
least
of her worries at this point. Darting into the bathroom Ava scooped what she could of her toiletries into the bag in her hand, trying to ignore the constant buzz of her phone in the other room. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell she was answering that damn thing. In fact, the phone wasn’t going with her on this trip. It would be just one more way
they
could track and find her.

She couldn’t afford that kind of thoughtless mistake. Once she finally left, she’d be a ghost. The only people who would be able to find her would be the government—with all of their satellites and NSA bullshit—but she was going to try her best to fly under their radar, too.

After taking what she could from the bathroom Ava went back to the bags of clothing, zipped them up, and headed for the door. Instinct alone caused her to peer through the peephole to make damn sure someone wasn’t waiting on the other side. Letting out a resigned sigh, she finally swung the familiar door open and looked back one last time at her cramped Chicago apartment. Being forced to leave something you loved—even if it
was
tiny—was a kick to the gut. It was someplace she’d felt safe, a place that’d been her sanctuary from the outside world. But in the course of the past few hours, it’d become the worst kind of prison. One she couldn’t bear to be in for even a few seconds longer. She tossed her bags into the dimly lit hallway and pulled the door closed behind her. Bothering to lock it was a waste of time. They’d get in there no matter how many locks were in place. Might as well save the landlord some repair money.

The door clicked into place, signifying the finality of her decision. It wasn’t really a choice, though—more of a preservation thing. It was this or stay here and be a victim of what was coming. And that was
not
an option.

Ava hefted the bags on her arms and ran down the steps of the apartment building. Her feet protested the jaunt but it was either wear the pink plaid pumps or leave them behind. There just wasn’t room in her bags for them. Since they happened to be her favorite pair of heels, she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them behind. Soon she busted through the outer entryway of the building and was on the sidewalk, looking both ways to make sure no one was trying to follow her. By her calculations she had about four minutes to get the hell out of Dodge, so she scurried along until the familiar shade of a yellow cab came whizzing in her direction. Ava dropped a bag to free a hand and threw it in the air to flag him down. He practically screeched to a halt. She wasted no time tossing her bags into the car and climbing among the cracked greyish vinyl.

“Where to?” the driver gruffly bit out.

“The bus station, please. And if you make it snappy, there’s an extra hundred in it for you.” She looked out the back window with paranoia. There still wasn’t anyone she recognized but that wouldn’t last long. They had people everywhere. Soon her once-sacred home would be turned upside down.

“I think I can make that happen. Hang on.” He laughed and slammed on the gas pedal of the car.

Ava’s spine jolted into the back of the seat but she wasn’t complaining. It was better than staying on the street waiting for them to find her.

When the driver buzzed in front of the bus station she hopped out quickly and threw him a wad of cash — including his extra hundred bucks. She snatched up her belongings and hurried inside to buy a ticket. Ava didn’t have a destination in mind. All she knew was that she had to get out of Chicago. Away from the danger that would surely be on her ass if she didn’t leave now. As she walked through the sliding glass doors, the entire place was abuzz with people. She didn’t want to be seen. She wanted invisibility if at all possible. At least this was a public place. If they had people here, maybe the number of travelers around would deter them from doing something stupid and getting caught red-handed. She continued to walk to the ticket counter while ducking her head and not making eye contact with anyone nearby. As she neared the counter, she pulled her wallet from her purse and glanced at the board behind the attendant on duty. It boasted the destinations to which the busses ran, but which one should she take?

“Can I help you?” he kindly asked, clearly seeing the indecision on her face.

“I just need a ticket please.” She didn’t look him in the eyes.

“A ticket to where?”

Shit
. “Um, I’m not quite sure.” Ava began to fidget.

“Well, if you want a ticket, you have to know where you’re going, Miss.” He chuckled.

“Uh, where would you recommend?” She wasn’t sure why the hell she’d even ask him that, but there it was.

He let out a belly laugh behind the protection of the full-body sneeze guard. “Honey, I’m not a travel agent.” He leaned to the side and looked behind her which put her entire body on edge. “Now, if you’ll be so kind, I need to sell tickets to people who actually
know
where they’re going.”

Ava turned slightly and saw a petite elderly woman behind her. “Oh.” She stepped out of line and motioned for the other woman to take the vacated spot. “Go ahead, I’m so sorry.”

She once again glanced around at her surroundings, trying to get a bearing on what she was actually doing. This wasn’t something she’d ever dreamed she’d have to do. Her life had an order, a purpose…so she thought. Now everything came down to making a decision about what would keep her safe. What would distance her from the people who would harm her? She tilted her head back and checked the board behind the man once more as he finished up with the geriatric woman.

As her eyes raked over the list of destinations several times, one location stood out. Stepping back up to the counter after the elderly woman had gotten her ticket squared away, Ava inhaled a deep breath. The man behind the glass glared at her expectantly, drumming his chubby fingers on the counter beside the computer keyboard. Ava raised her chin with a hint of confidence—one she really wasn’t feeling at the moment—and spoke, “One ticket to Biloxi, Mississippi, please.”