Page 64 of Blind Sin

Dacre’s mouth turns down into a sad sneer “You’re not taking her away from us.”

“Come on, man,” Mercier adds, grabbing my arm. “Don’t do this.”

I drop Lauren to her feet. “Go and get your bag. Lucinda’s bag is by the front door. Get hers too.”

I won’t!” she screams out. I turn to her and already I know I’m going to break four hearts with my next words. “No one will ever love you like Luce can. We aren’t capable. Get the bags and meet me on the boat.”

Tears stream down her face, but she does what I ask.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Alexander shouts. “That’s our girl”

I turn to face him. “Yeah. And what do you think will happen in a few weeks when she begins to resent us for not being able to see her sister? It’s not like they’ll just be able to call each other or like each other’s Instagram posts. They are on the run. The second Lucinda leaves, she’ll be gone. Never to be seen again.”

“Yeah. And the second Lauren leaves, they’ll both be gone,” Mercier says through gritted teeth.

Mercier kicks the sand, sending a plume of it up into the air. “Fuck!”

“I know.” I reply sadly.

“We’re coming with you.’ Dacre tries skirting past me, but I stop him.

“No. I told Lucinda I’d take them. I’ll drop them off on the island and they can disappear.”

I’m a fucking mess as Lauren appears by the front door, two small bags in hand.

“I’m saying bye at least,” Dacre snaps, and this time when he tries to get past me I let him.

My heart is in my boots as Lauren clings onto Dacre, and then Mercier. I can hear her sobs from here and her pleas to let her stay. I wait as long as I can, but when it gets too much, stride over and pull her away.

I escort her to the boat and settle her on the deck, before heading up to the bridge to start the engines. Luce is still there, staring out of the windows at the beach. I start the boat and pull away from the jetty.

“Why did you just do that?” Luce finally asks.

“What?”

“If you love her like you say you do, why are you willing to drive her away?”

I glance down through the window to where Lauren is sitting on the deck, her head on her knees. I can’t hear her over the roar of the engines, but I can tell she’s crying.

“You mean apart from the fact you asked me to?” I snap, and then try to calm myself. Anger isn’t going to solve any problems now. “That’s some fucked up kind of love.” I grouch. “I’m not your father. I’d rather her go with you and never see her again than fuck up again. I’ve done enough of that.”

“I was watching you on the beach. She hugged Alexander and Nolan. You had to force her off.”

“If you’re going to chew me out for gripping her too hard or forcing her to do something against her will, save it. I don’t want to hear it. You got what you wanted. I’ll drop you off on the mainland and here…” I pull the two thousand dollars that represent my current life savings from my pocket and throw it at her. “You should be able to get a flight with that. I suggest heading to Australia. It’s a big enough country to get lost in.”

She picks up the money and runs it through her fingers. “I stole the money Nolan brought with you,” she admits. “You should take this back.”

I laugh out loud though I’m far from happy. “Keep it anyway. You two are more important and you’ll probably need it.”

She’s silent for a few moments before speaking again. “How does it work?”

I glance over at her. “How does what work?”

“You and Lauren and Nolan and Alexander. I don’t understand it. I don’t know how something like that would work.

I don’t dare to get my hopes up that she might actually be considering this.

“I don’t know.” I say, and I genuinely don’t. It’s working just fine with Lauren, Dacre and Mercier and I’d hope to figure out how I would fit in. “I guess that would be up to Lauren.”

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