Page 69 of Keeping Astrid

Had the lack of food caused her to have a hallucination?

No, there was no way her imagination could conjure up the way the door had shattered into a million pieces of wood. The man in black strode over to her, ripping his mask off at the same time.

“Callum,” she said again, this time her voice a little stronger.

“Yeah, Comet, it’s me.”

The second his arms closed around her, the sobs she’d been holding back from the second Pedro had wrestled her into the car erupted out of her. Loud and messy. Callum’s arms tightened around her, and she sank into him, never believing that she would ever have this again.

Yet here she was. Being held by the man who loved her.

It wasn’t a dream. It was real. He was real.

“Shh, baby, I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”

Callum kept repeating the same things over and over, and eventually, her sobs quieted and she became aware that another two men had come into the space—all of them dressed in head-to-toe black like Callum.

“Are you hurt?” Callum ran his hands over her body, checking for any injuries. She winced as he brushed his fingers across her cheek, encountering the area where Pedro had slapped her.

“My wrists and ankles ache from where I was tied up, but that’s it.” Her eyes implored him to believe that she’d come out of this unscathed. That Pedro hadn’t attempted to assault her in any other way.

As if he could read her silent message, he gave a nod and then placed a gentle kiss on her bruised cheek. “Thank God,” he whispered.

“Was Pedro outside?” she asked.

“Pedro?”

“The man that took me.” She pointed to the bloodstain on the floor. “I think he was hurt. Did he make it outside?”

Callum looked over to where she was pointing and then back at her. “He’s not outside.”

“Oh.” Astrid took that in, surprised she still had the ability to speak coherently about what she thought happened.

“The area is clear. There’s no one in the van, but it looks like there was another vehicle here at some stage. Also, sporadic drops of blood in the dirt.” Angel came into the room and surveyed the situation. “She good?”

“Yes.” Callum pulled her tight into him again, and she relished being with him. He ran his hand over her head, wincing when he reached the bump. “What the fuck? You said you weren’t hurt?”

Astrid shrugged, tiredness invading her and the burst of adrenaline she’d gotten when Callum and Ox stormed into the cabin had completely disappeared. “I just want to go home.”

“Irish has gone to get the SUV. He should be here in fifteen,” Angel supplied.

Callum pressed his lips on top of her head, and she sighed. For a while, she’d thought she would never get a chance to feel that. To be held in his arms. But here she was. Safe. “Okay. Come on, Comet, let’s go outside.”

Astrid rested her head on his shoulder as he tucked her close to his side and led her out of the cabin, sitting on the top step. The sun was peeking through the trees, and a light breeze ruffled her hair. After being stuck inside for the last couple of days, it was wonderful to be out in the sun.

“Thank you for coming for me,” she said after a while, aware that Angel and Ox were inside taking photos. She had no idea where they were, if they were still in the United States or in Mexico. None of that mattered now. All that mattered was that she was free, and she was back in Callum’s arms.

“I’ll always come for you.” His big hands framed her face so that she could look deeply into his eyes. “When I came back and found out you were gone, the bottom fell out of my world. You’re my everything. The reason I do what I do. I don’t want to imagine what my life would be like without you in it. You own me. I love you, Astrid Conway.”

Tears welled in her eyes. She thought she was all cried out, but it appeared not. “The only thing that kept me going while Pedro held me here was the belief that once you found out I was gone, you’d find me. I love you too, Callum, so much. I can’t imagine my life without you in it either.”

A small smile lifted the corners of his lips. “So we going to do this?”

“Do what?” Hope and happiness sparked to life.

“Do life—together.”

“Yes, please.

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