At 5:38 a.m., Audrey came downstairs.
Oliver was already in the kitchen.
Of course he was.
He stood at the flat-top grill wearing a gray shirt and dark apron.
Lucy sat at table four eating toast while doing vocabulary homework.
Oliver looked up.
“Sleep?”
“Better than I expected.”
“Your contact?”
“Still working on another location.”
“How long?”
“Maybe two days.”
He nodded toward a table.
“Coffee?”
“Yes.”
Audrey sat.
Oliver brought a mug.
Then stood across from her.
“I need more information.”
Audrey nodded.
“Fair.”
“Who is looking for you?”
“A man named Preston Shaw.”
Oliver’s face changed slightly.
He knew the name.
“Cedar Bridge?”
“Yes.”
“What does Cedar Bridge have to do with you?”
Audrey’s heartbeat accelerated.
This was the moment.
She could tell him.
Everything.
Instead she said:
“I’ve been helping examine a property dispute involving the company.”
Not technically false.
Deeply incomplete.
Oliver watched her.
“Preston is your ex?”
“Yes.”
“Was he abusive?”
Audrey thought.
“Controlling.”
“In what way?”
“Contracts.”
“Money.”
“Employment.”
“Access.”
“He uses people’s dependence on him.”
“Violent?”
“No.”
“I have never seen him physically hurt anyone.”
Oliver nodded slowly.
“That doesn't mean harmless.”
“No.”
“Is Lucy at risk because you're here?”
“I don't believe he would physically target a child.”
“That was not the question.”
Audrey looked at him.
“He might use inspections.”
“Property pressure.”
“Your lease.”
“Anything legitimate-looking enough to create leverage.”
Oliver folded his arms.
“So yes.”
“Yes.”
Audrey hated saying it.
“I can leave today.”
Oliver looked toward Lucy.
Then toward the street.
“The roads are worse.”
“I’ll find somewhere.”
“You said your safe place was compromised.”
“Yes.”
“Then running into the first hotel with your real name sounds stupid.”
Audrey almost smiled.
“It would be.”
“How long until the secure place?”
“Forty-eight hours.”
“Stay until then.”
“Oliver.”
“You use the outside stairs.”
“You tell me immediately if the risk changes.”
“If anyone comes here because of you, I need to know before they walk through that door.”
“I will.”
He hesitated.
“Rent.”
Audrey blinked.
“What?”
“If you're staying, we write it down.”
“You don't have to…”
“Yes.”
“I do.”
“That protects you and me.”
Oliver pulled a receipt book from beneath the counter.
They wrote a simple occupancy agreement.
Dates.
Amount.
Separate entrance.
No access to cafe after hours except emergencies.
Either party could terminate early.
Audrey offered four hundred dollars.
Oliver pushed half back.
“That covers the room.”
“I can afford it.”
“I set the rate.”
“You don't know what I can afford.”
“I know what the room is worth.”
Audrey looked at the money.
Then accepted it without argument.
That mattered to Oliver.
Later, she asked:
“Do you need help?”
“With?”
“The cafe.”