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She burst into the security office without knocking. Ayla glanced up from her desk, a greeting on her lips.
Whitley stormed right past her.
She bolted into Carson’s office and braced herself in front of his desk. “I’m not going.”
He set aside a paper he was reviewing, lips compressed. “I’m sorry, Whitley. You’re the only witness.”
“Why do I have to give a statement in person?”
“I know it sounds worrisome, but it’s safe. We need to bring this matter to a close so you can go on living your life. We need to make sure Lance is convicted.”
“It could take forever to even find him!” Her voice sharpened with alarm. “Look how long I lasted in the wilderness. I can disappear again if I have to! Just let me disappear instead of sending me into that office alone!”
Fear clawed at her, a dark shadow on the life she was just beginning to find again. She backed away from the desk, shaking her head. “No. No.”
Wyatt wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned into him. “We’re going to make sure you’re safe.”
She grasped for another thread, needing anything to make sense. “People bring support people to things like this.”
“Lawyers,” Carson said. “Lawyers can accompany witnesses.”
“No, I mean—a friend. A family member. Someone who’s just there for you.”
“Juveniles are allowed to have a parent or guardian because they’re minors.” Carson’s tone softened, making her think she was getting through to him or he was starting to pity her.
A hot sob burned in her throat, and she gulped it back. “Can’t Wyatt be there for my inner child then?”
He looked between her and Wyatt. “You two are perfect for each other. He argued to be there too.”
Whitley trembled with frustration and fear until she didn’t know which emotion was winning.
“Denver already vetted the agent,” Wyatt told her. “He’s legit and has a clean record.”
She slashed a hand through the air.
He took her by the upper arms and turned her to face him “There’s one more measure in place to keep you safe.”
He reached into his pocket. When he uncurled his fingers, she saw a necklace in his palm. It didn’t look like any security measure she’d ever seen.
“This tracks your location,” he said, fastening it around her neck with careful hands. “We’ll know where you are the whole time. But this meeting is standard protocol. There shouldn’t be any surprises.”
She stared down at the pendant resting against her collarbone like it was a live grenade someone handed her. “I spent months being chased by my ex. What’s going to stop them from chasing me to an office?”
Wyatt slid his arms around her and drew her tight against his chest. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“But that’s it? That’s the plan?” Her voice climbed, agitation taking hold faster than she could reel it back in. She pushed away to look up at him properly. “I just walk in there. By myself. And trust some agent I’ve never met, with nothing but a necklace, and hope for the best?”
“I fought Carson on it.” His jaw was tight, something raw in his voice. “I wanted to be in that room with you. They said no.”
Carson cleared his throat. “We’ll be watching your signal the entire time, and if it so much as flickers wrong, we’re coming for you.”
She searched Wyatt’s face, desperate for something solid to hold on to, and then she saw it—something shifting behind his eyes, quick and private, gone almost as soon as it appeared. A glint of calculation, or maybe resolve, a shadow that looked less like a man accepting a plan and more like a man rearranging one in his head.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He said it too fast, and his expression smoothed back into careful reassurance before she could press further or Carson could question him.
She didn’t know what to make of that, and she was too exhausted and afraid to question it right now.
