I oblige, moving slowly as I follow him, my eyes scouring our surroundings. But there’s simply nothing to see. Nothing but darkness.
“Why are we here?” I ask, my lips trembling. “Why are you scaring me like this?”
“Oh sweety, no need to fear,” he says, trying to wrap his arm around me. “We won’t stay here long, just for a while, get some rest, get reacquainted—and then we’ll move on.”
“To where?”
He sighs, and even in the dark, I can see how he rolls his eyes at me.
“Enough with the questions, Liliane. Just... come.”
I try to evade his touch, but he’s faster and stronger than me, closing his hand around my upper arm before I manage to get out of his reach.
“No!” I shriek, astonished at the volume of my own voice as it travels across the empty valley.
I try to fight him, twisting and turning, my feet raking through the muddy ground when he drags me with him, the grip on my arm so tight that I’m sure it’ll leave bruises.
“Okay, I’ve had enough of this!” he bellows, reaching at the side of his belt with the other hand.
My horrified gaze is met with the barrel of a gun at the same time Christopher’s face gets lit up by a source coming from behind my back.
His eyes widen with dreadful realization as he catches sight of the car that rolls up behind me. I can hear the tires moving through the mud before I can see it, blinded by its headlights as I turn around over my shoulder.
Terror and relief blend in a dizzying solution, making me feel sick to my stomach, while car doors are being slammed, deep voices thundering through the darkness while I sink down to my knees right as his grip around my upper arm is loosened.
A shot is fired, drowning out every other sound, every voice that cries out through the night. But I don’t know where the bullet travels.
All I see is him.
Jayson catches me before I hit the ground, wrapping his strong arms around me with fierce protection as he gathers me up, shielding me with his own body while keeping me safe. The turmoil that his appearance caused is ferocious but short-lived, only lasting a few seconds until silence cloaks us like a protective blanket.
I can hear voices in the background, no more yelling, but uttering hurried words as people move around us. It’s nothing but white noise, bustle on the sidelines while we retreat inside a glass dome, right in the middle of it all, but still alone with each other.
Jayson’s face is right above mine, a warm smile adorning his handsome face as he wipes away a strand of hair that’s sticking to my face.
“How...,” I utter. “How did you find me?”
The smile on his face widens as he lets out a little chuckle. He reaches down to my neck, hooking his finger through the little ring on my collar.
“Ever heard of GPS?” he whispers.
My hand reaches up to his, following the outline of the metal around my neck. “This?”
He nods, leaning down to plant a kiss on my forehead.
“I told you it was a very special gift.”