Page 23 of Shattered Love

I took over filling the bags with food as Murphy gathered the ammo and guns into another bag, slipping one of the weapons into his waistband. Within minutes, everything we needed was packed and there was nothing left for us here.

Turning on my heel, I faced the two people I had trusted. Emmanuel had reminded me so much of my father, giving me peace when I most needed it during our mornings fishing. But I knew my father. He had died instead of giving in to these people. Now when I looked at him, all I saw was a coward, no matter the reason for what he did.

“Can I say goodbye to them?” I asked Elizabeth, struggling to face Emmanuel without my anger spilling over even more.

Elizabeth nodded softly, allowing me to pass her and head upstairs to the twin’s room. When I opened the door, the two of them sat on the floor, whispering quietly together. The noise of the door alerted them and their faces turned toward me in unison.

“Mommy said you’re leaving,” Stephanie said.

I was surprised to learn that they had told them anything. Nodding, I dropped to my knees, welcoming Stephanie into my arms.

“We never got to collect more flowers together,” she sniffled against my chest and I ran my hand over her hair.

“I know, but that’s okay.” I looked to Lucas over her head, his face scrunched in deep thought.

“What if we need protecting?” He murmured and my heart broke a little more. If only he knew what his parents had done in the name of protecting them.

Holding out my other arm for his embrace, I told them, “Your mommy and daddy can protect you now.”

Stephanie sniffled harder. “What if they take us from them again?”

There was so much fear in her little voice. I hadn’t realized how much of a toll our kidnapping had taken on their young minds.

Backing away until I could look her in the face, I ran a comforting hand over her head. “Then it’s lucky Lucas has you. You’re even tougher than me.”

Stephanie shook her head, but I stopped her with a squeeze to her shoulder. “You are. And together,” I grabbed both of their hands, “together, you are stronger than you think. Never forget that, okay?”

They both nodded eagerly. Giving them one last hug, I left the room, hoping that their father’s deal saved them. I may be angry at him for his betrayal, but I truly hoped they survived. These two sweet souls had a bright life ahead of them, if only given the chance.

Making my way back down the stairs, I met Murphy at the front door, grabbing one of the three packs from his hands.

“Ready?” He asked.

I wasn’t. I wasn’t ready to give up the comfort we had found once again. But it seemed that no matter where we went, we would never be safe. So I steeled my spine, knowing there was no other option.

“Ready.”

We didn’t go far. Walking into town before we had a chance to formulate a plan was an idiotic move. I may be fuming, ready to break into that camp and find the others, but that wouldn’t achieve anything except for Murphy’s and my capture as well.

After walking the few miles to the next house, Murphy checked the inside, making sure it was empty, and then we settled in for the day. Unlike Elizabeth’s parents' cottage, this one was entirely empty. Clearly, whoever had lived here beforehand had taken the opportunity to raid all their cabinets before they left.

Luckily, they also had a wood-burning stove and Murphy heated up some cans of soup for the two of us to eat. As the food warmed, Murphy took a seat on the chair in the living room, the house a similar layout to where we had just been.

Opening his arms, he gestured for me, and I fell into his embrace. I needed his support right now. The nightmares that came nightly always featured me at the hands of Vex once again. But this, the people I loved, the people I was beginning to care about, being in his grasp? This was worse.

“I understand how you felt now,” I whispered to him.

Murphy had blamed himself for my kidnapping. And now the guilt swirled in my gut, making me nauseous.

“We couldn’t have done anything to stop it.” Murphy ran a hand along my shoulder, trying to comfort us both, but I heard the regret in his voice.

Maybe we would have been taken like the rest of them. Maybe we would have been able to fight them off. We would never know. All I knew was that I had been caught up in the way he looked at me, ignoring the reality around us.

“What do we do now?” I asked, curling deeper into Murphy’s arms.

His hands continued to caress my back, soothing some of the ire burning in my veins. “First, we eat. And then we make a plan to go after them, just like we should have done for you.”

It wasn’t much. But for now, it would be enough.

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