Page 92 of The Lair

That my real identity is at risk of being unveiled to the entire country on national TV?

That I don’t know how to stop hating myself for all I’ve done and continue to do?

Travis is careful as he sets my laptop aside and grabs my shaky hands between his warm ones. “Breathe with me, Allie. Come on.”

My chest heaves when I follow his command, and it takes me three tries to take a full breath.

“In. Out. Again.”

His thumb starts rubbing soothing circles on my cold skin.

“That’s it. You’re doing so good, Allie. Will you breathe with me one more time?”

A tingle travels down the length of my neck, and I nod.

“Are you feeling better?” he asks after a few moments of silence that stretch in time because I can’t find my voice. I manage to nod.

He stands to his full height, still holding my hands in his. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

Before I allow myself to overthink it too much, I use his strength to push myself up. Without letting go of his hand, I follow him out of the room. I’m not expecting to end up next door—in the only room of Travis’s house that sits completely empty.

He wants to show me something… here?

Wordlessly, he shuts the door behind us and leads me to the opposite end of the room before sitting down on the floor. He tugs at my hand. “Come here.”

The usual alarms that go off in my head every time I think of getting closer to Travis are gone. Slowly, I lower myself to the wooden floor until I’m sitting next to him.

I don’t know how long we bask in the silence and darkness while I wait for my heart to calm down. With my head resting on the wall behind me, I turn so I can check on him. His eyes are already on me, his head in the same position as mine.

“Why did you bring me here?” I ask, my voice a whisper.

He hears me anyway. “For honesty.”

A knife slicing an open wound hurt less than those words.

My voice sounds strained when I speak next. “What do you mean?”

What if he kicks me out for being a liar? We didn’t sign any contract, so I’m sure he can do that if he wants to. And I wouldn’t dare to argue because he would be in the right.

“There’s a reason this room is empty,” he starts.

Somehow, my heart knows it’s going to break in the next few moments. I don’t fight it.

“I enlisted in the Navy when I was eighteen to get some weight off my uncle’s shoulders.”

His voice has never sounded this somber. I don’t like it at all, this dark pit I can tell Travis’s mind has just crawled into. Fighting against the urge to drag him out of it, I hold my breath and listen to his story. One I never thought I would hear.

“I already told you my parents passed away when I was young.” I nod, but he doesn’t see it. He’s looking at my hand, still wrapped in his. “I’d always been close to my uncle, so when he took me in, it wasn’t a huge change. I already spent most of my time with him growing up.”

I squeeze his hand. A silent cue that I’m here, and I’m listening.

“For a few years, we struggled to make ends meet. We could barely afford one meal a day for both of us.” He takes a deep breath through his nose. “I started working at a car repair shop to help him pay the bills. It wasn’t much, but at least we didn’t go to bed hungry anymore.”

In a quiet voice, I tell him with my heart on my sleeve, “I’m sorry you had to go through all that, Travis. You didn’t deserve it.”

I almost miss his headshake. “It’s all in the past.”

If there’s anyone who understands that just because it’s in the past doesn’t mean the wound is healed, it’s me.

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