Page 5 of Dear John

His eyes slid to mine for just a second. “Because I thought you might want to escape Claire’s hovering. And when I found out Michael was here…”

I nodded in understanding. “So, is it weird to know he’s alive?”

“I never thought he was dead,” he said without any further explanation.

“So, he just ghosted you?”

“Basically.”

“Any reason?”

He sighed heavily. Knight didn’t like talking. In fact, this was the most he had spoken to me at one time since I arrived.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said, surprising me. “I did some bad shit and haven’t seen him since.”

“What kind of bad stuff?” I asked, ignoring his curse word. Ebarardo didn’t like it when I swore, and even though he was gone, I abided by his rules.

“I killed a bunch of men who were killing my friends. I should be in prison right now.”

“Oh. Well…that doesn’t seem so bad.”

He raised his eyebrow as he turned to me.

“I mean…” I fidgeted under his intense gaze. It was unnerving how much he set me on edge and made me feel better all at the same time. “If they were bad people…”

Thankfully, the elevator doors opened, saving me from having to talk anymore. We headed for the end of the hall to the doors that led outside. My heart hammered in my chest and sweat slicked the back of my neck. I could do this. I could go outside and pretend everything was normal. I was just hanging out with my brother, after all.

The bright sunlight nearly blinded me, but it was the cool breeze that really got to me. It had been so long since I’d experienced fall with the leaves changing and the feel of winter in the air. Part of me was excited to see snow again, but then I felt horrible, knowing I wouldn’t be experiencing any of that with my husband.

I pulled my sweatshirt tighter around my body, zipping it closed to ward off the chill. I wasn’t sure how far we walked, but the farther we got from the compound, the more my legs ached. I was mostly recovered from my hospital stay, but every once in a while, I could still feel a twinge rushing through my body.

And then I thought of Rafe.

I hadn’t heard a word about him since the island. I found it hard to believe that he went to all the trouble to “rescue me”, but then left me all alone, with no one but a new brother and my parents.

“Don’t go near them.”

At Knight’s voice, I brushed away the thoughts and focused on him again. “What?”

He jerked his head to a group of women gathered around a patch of open field. “Those women. They’re all nuts. Stay away from them.”

I couldn’t help but glance over at them as we continued our journey. They all looked so happy, having so much fun and cheering each other on with whatever they were doing. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen a woman and wanted to talk to her. All my friends were my guards, and I wasn’t even sure I could call them that.

Ebarardo didn’t allow me to make friends. He said I didn’t need anyone other than him, and now that he was gone, I understood how true his words were. “Who are they?”

“Sebastian’s wife and some of the other wives. They’re all fucking crazy.”

“What are they doing?”

“Blowing shit up,” he muttered. “Probably planning the next idiotic thing that will inevitably get one of them killed or blown up.”

“Wouldn’t they be killed if they were blown up?”

“You would think,” he huffed.

I looked back at them, wondering what it was like to seem so happy. They wanted to blow something up. That had to be a metaphor, right? But then I watched as they all started running and ducked behind a makeshift wall. An explosion rocked the ground, sending dirt scattering into the sky. I nearly jumped out of my skin at how loud it was. And when it was over, they were all whooping and yelling as they ran to check out the destruction.

---