Page 24 of Miles

“What happened earlier?” I asked, like it didn’t matter at all. Like I hadn’t cried, all alone, before Ainsley brought my lunch. “Oh. That. It’s all right.”

“Is it?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder. I didn’t like that look, or the way he kept pacing. Something was up.

“Why don’t we stop wasting time and get down to it?” I asked, folding my hands as best I could.

I had seen Papa take control of a room in this way so many times before. Never in my wildest dreams had I ever imagined I would imitate him in a tight spot. Good thing he wasn’t around to see it.

“Get down to what?”

“You came here for a reason. Out with it, please. I’m going crazy, waiting to see what you have to say.”

“Now that you’re speaking, you certainly seem to have a lot on your mind.” He sat where Ainsley had just sat minutes earlier. “Why did you pretend not to be able to speak?”

“I wasn’t pretending anything. I just didn’t want to speak.”

“Why not?”

“Because… I don’t know,” I lied.

He narrowed his eyes until he was squinting at me as muscles jumped in his tightened jaw. “Because you didn’t want us to know who you are? Savannah?”

It was over.

Any hope of escaping my life dissolved like a cloud of smoke around my head. All that was left was Miles, staring at me through those slits which used to be eyes. He breathed heavily, almost snorting. Like an animal.

A chill ran down my spine.

“So you know,” I whispered.

“I know. I know the Jeep belonged to your father.”

“Damn it. You went looking for it?”

“Not me, personally, but someone else. Did you honestly think none of us would try to learn something about you? If only to reach out to your loved ones?”

“If I had any loved ones, do you think I would jump off a cliff?” The words hung heavy in the air once I spoke them. One of us had to say it, I guessed, and it was only right that it be me. “I tried to kill myself. Why do you think that is?”

“How would I know? You haven’t spoken about it.”

“And I don’t have to.”

“You’re right. But you should at least have been honest about your name—unless you were that afraid he’d come for you.”

His bluntness took my breath away. “You have no idea how bad things could get. What do you think it would take a person to do what I did? What would it take for you to go that far?”

We stared at each other for what felt like ages, silent except for the sound of our breathing. There was a fire behind his eyes that terrified and intrigued me all at once.

I didn’t want a man like him anywhere near me—I’d had enough of that intensity, the possessiveness. I felt it coming from him in waves, pushing me away while pulling me in.

The spell broke when he spoke. “I don’t know. Quite a lot, I would imagine. Nothing I would want to go back to, if my attempt was unsuccessful.”

Another knock at the door, and I was glad to hear it until Martina appeared.

Her deep frown set off warning signals in my head.

“Miles. Gate wants you right away.”

He glanced at me as he went to the door. “Wait here.”

---