Page 35 of Shattered Home

I blacked out then, sleep taking me, although nightmares kept me restless throughout the night. Visions of Vex’s vicious fists mixed with images of my dad, making me wonder what he had gotten himself mixed up with.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“What happened to your face?” A small voice woke me up, Stephanie’s hair curtaining over me.

Blinking my eyes, I tried to bring the situation into focus, but all I could feel was the pain. My body ached and I swore it hurt more now than it did last night. Finally, processing what she asked, I tried to think of a suitable answer. I couldn’t tell an eight-year-old that some large man beat me as a way of obtaining answers.

“When they took me from dinner, they wanted help with getting some nuts from a tree, like we did back at camp?” Stephanie nodded, following along with my asinine story. “Well, I fell from the tree. But I’ll be okay.”

I waited with bated breath to see if she would believe me and finally, she shrugged. “Okay. Is it breakfast time? Lucas is hungry.”

Glad that her mind couldn’t comprehend something worse happening to me, I looked behind her to where Lucas sat, his eyes scanning the bruises I could feel on my face. He didn’t look as convinced as his sister, but I was hoping the silence would continue for a little longer and he wouldn’t ask questions.

“We can head out and see if there’s some breakfast waiting for us. Do you know where Aiden is?” I asked when I realized he wasn’t in the tent.

“He said he was getting some fresh air,” Stephanie answered.

Bracing myself to stand up, my muscles ached, but I was able to get out of the tent without cursing. The twins were at my heels, both latching onto my hands when we exited, and I spotted Aiden standing a few tents over, chatting with a few people. I couldn’t hear the conversation, but by their bent heads and hushed words, I had a feeling he was trying to see if anyone else was willing to escape with us.

I wanted to tell him about the man last night, but I had forgotten after the evening with Vex. Knowing that we needed to get out of here even sooner than I thought, before either of us were beat too badly, I decided I would spend the day looking for the man. I trusted Aiden to watch over the kids while I did so and I figured it was probably best I searched for him. I didn’t think Aiden would have any chance convincing him of letting us join his escape plan.

When Aiden spotted us outside the tent, he waved goodbye to the others, rushing over to our side. “Are you okay? I could have grabbed you breakfast.”

“I’m okay.” I waved him off, although my throat was decidedly scratchy. I wondered if I had screamed last night and hadn’t realized it, too caught up in the pain.

Aiden frowned, not believing me, but that didn’t matter. “Plus, I have things I need to do today. Can you watch the twins?”

“What do you have to do? I’m making plans, Lessy, you don’t need to get involved.”

Sighing, I pressed a hand against his shoulder. “Aiden, I love you, but please let me do this.”

Furrowing his brows, he eyed me up like he didn’t recognize me. “You seem different.”

Laughing humorlessly, I arched a brow. “Yeah, that’s what happens when your family dies and you have to survive in the woods. Now, take the twins to breakfast, I need to find someone.”

Aiden opened his mouth to argue, but I released the twins' hands, heading off before he could stop me. Most people would be headed to breakfast by now, but I figured the man would be anywhere else. He didn’t seem like one to join in on the group activities.

Walking in the opposite direction of the crowds of people, I scanned the fences, hoping to spot the elusive man. As I eyed the area, I made note of the positions of the gates. I knew there was one at the front and another on each side of the camp. So far, I hadn’t been able to pinpoint one on the back side. Deciding that would be a good place to look, I stayed to the edges of the tents in case someone was watching, trying to stifle the sound of my feet.

Murphy had taught me that skill on one of our many hikes to the radio tower, informing me of how important that was when you were tracking an animal on foot. The thought of the broad grinned man had sadness swirling in my chest. I wondered what he was doing right now, if they were all safe.

My steps led me along the fence line, nothing out of the ordinary as far as my eyes could see, when suddenly I saw a dark head of hair ahead of me. His steps were languid, in no hurry, but I saw the way his head swiveled, taking everything in as I was.

He was only about twenty feet in front of me, but he hadn’t noticed my approach and I was moving quicker than him. When I was only five feet away, he finally turned, doing a poor job of stifling a smile.

“Wouldn’t have expected you to sneak up on me,” he stated, backing up until he was leaning against the fence. That seemed to be his favorite position to relax.

“Would have expected you to notice,” I sassed back and one of his brows rose in delight.

“I should have known you had a backbone, considering the bruises covering your face.”

His finger reached out, running a light stroke against my swollen cheekbone. “Pretty girls shouldn’t have bruises on their face, Alessia.”

My face flushed at his words, the deep tone sending something unidentifiable through my body, and I was glad the bruises covered the redness of my cheeks. “Seems unfair you know my name. What’s yours?”

“And if I don’t tell you?” He teased, his finger still caressing my cheek.

Shrugging, I tried to act nonchalant, but by his grin, I knew he could see right through it. “Then I don’t care. That’s not why I want to talk to you.”

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