“Hi, Maddy. Can I speak to my dad please?”

I heard her tapping on keys. “I’ll just put you through, Annabelle,” she stated as the hold music started. I took a few calming breaths, I needed to get this done without giving anything away.

“Annabelle, is everything okay?” my father asked worriedly.

Come on, Anna, you can do this! “Actually no, Dad.” I took another deep breath. “I need you to do something for me, but I don’t want you to question me. It’s something that I need to have happen,” I said, trying to stress the importance without giving anything away.

“Of course, Annabelle. What is it?”

I slumped down onto the bathroom floor, leaning my back against the door, gripping my free hand in my hair. “I need you to transfer Agent Taylor,” I replied quickly.

His reaction was exactly what I thought it would be. “What? Transfer? I can’t do that, Annabelle! He’s there for your protection; he’s the best man for the job. With everything going on right now, you need him there,” he said sternly.

I closed my eyes, trying to block out the pain that I was feeling inside. “Dad, I need this to happen. I don’t ask you for much, do I? If you love me at all, you’ll do this for me and not ask me anything else about it. Please, Dad, please?” I begged, my voice starting to break.

He was quiet for a couple of seconds. I couldn’t breathe. I could feel my heart getting harder with each passing second; I was starting to push everything away again, just like I used to. I didn’t care about my own life; Carter could do what the hell he wanted to me, as long as Ashton wasn’t harmed.

“Annabelle, do you know what you’re asking? You want me to transfer him even after I just told you that Carter knows where you are? This is that important to you?” he asked quietly.

Jeez, Ashton is the most important thing in the world. “Yes,” I croaked.

“Has something happened? Has he done something wrong?” my dad inquired hesitantly.

I gasped. “No! He’s done nothing wrong. He’s an excellent agent, exemplary. I just need you to transfer him, please?” I said fiercely.

He sighed. “Do I get to know the reason?”

“No. Please trust me, please do this for me. Transfer him to wherever he wants to go. He wanted some Front Line thing in LA.” I wiped the silent tear that fell down my cheek.

He was quiet again. “Okay, consider it done,” he replied, his voice tender and worried.

Relief washed over me and my stomach unclenched. The fear loosened, and the muscles that I didn’t even realise I had tensed, started to relax.

“Thank you, Dad. Thank you, thank you,” I muttered.

“I’ll call him and let him know,” he stated sadly.

I gasped, panic stricken. “No, don’t! You can’t do that.”

“What? You just said you-” he started, but I interrupted him.

“Dad, Ashton’s not going to want to leave. If he finds out now, he’s going to do everything in his power to stay. You can’t tell him until he’s ready to go. I think he’s going to need to be escorted away,” I admitted, biting the inside of my mouth hard enough to draw blood.

“But if he’s that dead set against going, why is he being transferred?” he asked. I could hear the frustration in his tone.

“Because I need him transferred.”

He sighed again. I could just imagine his defeated frown as he ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Okay,” he finally agreed. “The four agents that are coming over should be there within about forty minutes. I’ll call and have them escort him straight to the airport and wait until he’s on the plane. I’ll get Maddy to book his flight.”

I smiled weakly. “Okay. Maybe you could call Dean Michaels and let him know what’s going on, but tell him not to say anything to Ashton,” I suggested.

“Yeah, I’ll do that. So when the four guards get there, they’ll take Agent Taylor to the airport and leave you with your two far guards,” he clarified, checking I understood everything.

“Can I have Dean as my new near guard? He’s the only one I wouldn’t mind near me.”

“That sounds like a good plan for the short term, but we might need to look at something else longer term. Maybe it’s best if you come home for a while or something,” he replied, sounding exasperated.

“I don’t want to leave school,” I replied quickly. “Can’t we just see how this all goes for a while?”

“For the moment, but I’ll keep a close eye on it. I already have people keeping tabs on what he’s up to. If I get even one sniff that he’s coming near Arizona, you’re coming here to stay with us. Understood?”

“Understood,” I confirmed. “Dad, one more thing before you go.”

“What’s that, Annabelle?” he asked curiously.

“Ashton’s done an exceptional job here. I don’t want you to think that just because I’ve requested this early transfer that this looks bad on him. He really deserves whatever recommendation you would have given him at the end of the eight months,” I said sternly.

“Okay, Annabelle, don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything,” he replied as he ended the call.

I let out the breath I didn’t even realise I was holding. It was going to be hard enough to watch Ashton leave me, but I had a feeling I was going to have to make him go, and I would need all my strength for that. He was going to force me to lie right to his face; he was going to make me rip my own heart out when I explained it to him.