Page 21 of Guarding Fable

Then, he listens again, and I want to tear my hair out. Hearing a man is looking for me in town has my anxiety level rising, but I hold myself in check.

“Okay. Take a picture of him and send that to me along with the other picture.”

He hangs up.

“What happened?”

“A guy who looks like your drawing is in the morgue in Prince William county. He had no ID, no registration on the car can be found because the VIN has been scratched off. Cash, clothes, a burner phone that was damaged in the wreck, and a gun. That’s all that was in the car.”

“And so he could just be dead. What was that about another man looking for me?”

“Some man showed up in town might curious as to who the woman was who had found a couple days ago. They’ve detained him.”

His phone goes off again, and he holds it up.

“Now, Angel, this man is pretty banged up from the wreck, but he does look like your drawing.”

“Show me.”

When I see him, I gasp, but not from his appearance but from the memory of him chasing me through the woods. The terror I felt returns, turning my blood to ice. I can’t fight the shiver that hits me, and it shames me that I’m not stronger.

“I’m sorry,” he says, pulling me against him and pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“It’s him.”

“Okay. And now, there’s this other guy that showed up.”

He shows me another picture. This one shows a middle-aged man who is pretty attractive for an older man. What was it Destiny called men like him? A silver fox.

“I don’t know him, but I want to talk to him.”

“Why?”

“Maybe if I heard his voice, I would know who he was. It might trigger something.”

He doesn’t look convinced at all.

“It’s not like he can hurt me. You’ll be there and Frank.” His frown turns darker, so I hurry on. “I didn’t always see the men who would come to our house, but I could hear them speaking to Papa sometimes.”

He sighs. “Fine. But the first sign of trouble, and we’re out of there.”

I nod and rise to my tiptoes to kiss him. Of course, as always, nothing is that simple. He deepens the kiss, his hands going to my waist. He breaks away from the kiss and lifts me up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold.

“Leo! You said we’re going to the jail to see this guy.”

He drops me on the bed and smiles down at me. God, this man…he’s become my whole world. It’s amazing that I only met him less than seventy-two hours ago, but I can’t imagine my life without him.

“I said we’re going, but he can wait.”

I can’t deny him. I don’t think I ever would, but definitely not when he looks at me like that.

He peels my clothes off, and as he’s kissing his way down my body, I decide I definitely agree. My problems can wait.

9

Leo

We’re on our way to town about two hours later, and it starts to rain. I glance over at my precious cargo. Truth is, I’d rather her not be anywhere but my house, specifically in my bed, beneath me moaning my name.

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