Page 32 of A Twisted Gift

“The world can be a safe place if you know how to navigate it,” I tell her. “But it can be very dangerous if you don’t. I don’t think you’re stupid, but there are things you don’t know. How to drive a car, for one. In this part of the country, you won’t get far without one.”

She steps back. “So Iamcaged in.”

“No, Raina. You’re free to go wherever you want. Just know that I’ll be at your side at all times. To protect you if someone spots you, to help you learn what it’s like outside of your Father’s mansion. I won’t trap you like he did, I promise. But I need to be with you.”

“Like a shield,” she murmurs, and her hands come up to my chest. She traces her fingers down the soft fabric of my shirt. “Like you were last night.”

“That’s right. Except Charles is never taking you away from me again. I’ll kill him before he gets another chance.”

That doesn’t seem to startle her. She nods, staring up at me with wonder. “Then I want to stay with you.”

Something shatters inside me. I should be relieved. Happy. Grateful. But all I feel is a deep ache for the love that’s been absent for all of Raina’s life. It doesn’t matter that we knew each other as kids. She’d rather stay with a near stranger than risk getting caught by her father.

I run a hand through her silky hair, and she leans into my touch, smiling. Her entire life, Raina hasn’t had anyone looking out for her, but she does now. My life is hers, and it will be until my last dying breath.

Chapter eleven

Erik

Her best friend.

That’s what Raina called me last night. When she looks at me, that’s what I want her to see. Not someone who’ll box her in. I’m not her captor. I’m trying to be her key to freedom.

So I take Raina to a coffee shop for breakfast. It’s a town over, one of those hidden gems that people love escaping to for a weekend. The main street in this town is packed with little stores that are always bustling on weekends. My hope is that it’s far enough away from the Montgomery estate that Charles won’t be looking for Raina here.

Not for the first time, I wish I had eyes and ears inside his home, but his staff is impenetrable. I have no clue whether he thinks his daughter ran away or was taken. Until we leave—assuming Raina wants to—I’m taking as many precautions as I can.

During the drive, Raina stares out the window the entire time. It’s endearing, how enthusiastically she takes in the world around her. But it feeds something dark in me that’s been festering since my childhood, too.

Raina should’ve had this experience years ago. She should’ve gone out when her family did. Attended school, made friends, and, however much I hate thinking about it, had her first love. She deserved a normal life, but her father ripped it away from her and dangled it just out of her reach.

I hate him.

“What do you think?” I ask Raina once we’re almost to the shop. She’s been quiet, and I want to make sure she hasn’t gotten too lost in her head like she did yesterday.

She straightens in her seat and glances at me before hesitantly asking, “Where are the bears and the wolves?”

“Deeper in the woods, probably. They tend to stay away from people for the most part.”

“So Amelia was telling the truth,” she mutters to herself. “And what about people? Do murderers really walk the streets looking for people to kill?”

“Who told you they do?” I ask as I pull into the only free parking space I can find. Since it’s Christmas Eve, the street is packed with last-minute shoppers.

“Father, but… I don’t know if he was telling the truth anymore. I think he was trying to scare me so I wouldn’t try to run away again.”

I hate him, I hate him, I hate him.

“Murderers aren’t very common, and they normally kill people they know, not strangers,” I tell Raina. “You’re right. Charles was trying to manipulate you.”

“Would you really kill him?”

There it is.It took me by surprise that she wasn’t shocked by my declaration earlier, but maybe she needed time to process. And now it’s finally hit her, what I could possibly be. A monster, according to the stories her father has told her.

I unbuckle my seatbelt. “Let’s get you some breakfast, Raina.”

Before she can respond, I’m stepping out into the cold winter air. Thick clouds fill the sky, casting everything in a hopeless December gray. It’s a reminder that we’re not through this yet. I could still lose her, and not because of her father taking her away again.

“The shop is across the street,” I say once I’ve rounded my car. I hold out my hand for Raina, pulling her onto the sidewalk. “There’s—”

---