Page 29 of Escaped
“She was upset…” My voice cracked with emotion as I recalled how intensely awful that time had been, yet somehow, it seemed easy compared to what had come next.“Hysterical, even.She didn’t know what she was doing, but in the end, it amounted to the same thing—the choice had been hers.”
“You’ve changed, little girl.”His tone was reflective as the weight of his stare drilled into the left side of my face.
“How, sir?”
After everything I’d been through, how could Inothave changed?But at least he was talking.The strange conversation was better than the strained silence we’d had before.
“In so many ways.”He laughed softly.“The Erin I met wouldn’t even recognize you.”
“Is that a good thing?”I liked his more relaxed tone.
“I hope so.I like to think I haven’t fucked you up entirely.”
“You saved me, sir.”Releasing the wheel with one hand, I reached for his knee.“More than once.”
“Let’s not dress it up, little girl,” He exhaled.“I kept you in that cabin to please myself.”
“I know.”Smirking at his honesty, I marveled at how it really was the day for confessions as my hand shifted back to the wheel.“But you and that place still saved me.I’d have never made it in the storm.”
Based on what I recalled, I’d hardly been fighting him off most of the time, either.
“I brought Hawkins’ hellfire down on you.”He turned toward his window.“That’s what led to you having a gun in the first place.If you hadn’t been there, you’d have never even held one, let alone fired it.I can’t forgive myself for that.”
“There’ll be time for forgiveness, sir, but it’s not now.”An odd solace floated over me at the statement, the realization grounding.Therewouldbe a time for coming back from everything we’d been through.We just had to be patient.“Now, we need to get that shoulder of yours seen to.”
“Yeah.”Wincing, he glanced down at the injury.“It is hurting a lot right now, but are you sure this brother of yours is the answer?”
“He’s the answer.”I didn’t even need to question my decision.“He’s reliable and trustworthy.”
We’d discussed the idea of dropping in on my brother once the charged atmosphere of Baron’s loss had quelled.
Owen was thirteen months older than me, but being so close in age meant we’d essentially been raised as twins.Growing up, we’d been inseparable, but time and his medical career had put miles between us.Deep down, I knew that if I was ever in real trouble, he’d be there for me.I just hoped that mindset stretched to my new, ex-assassin lover.
“But if he’s so reliable, why didn’t you message him in the cabin?”Eli leaned closer.“You never even mentioned having a brother.”
“I’ve asked myself the same thing.”I shook my head.“I guess I just knew Owen too well.If he’d received that message, he wouldn’t have called the emergency services.He’d have been out there after me, and that’s not what I wanted.”
Sighing, a mental image of my determined brother filled my head.Owen didn’t do anything by halves.Apparently, we had that in common.
“I couldn’t risk that, so I opted for Mum, but she never even replied.”My brows knitted.“I still can’t believe that.”
“I’m sorry.”Sincerity rang in his tone.“I’ve never been much for family, but even I can imagine how much that must hurt.”
“Yeah.”I swallowed back my rising emotion.“Her only daughter messages her in trouble and she doesn’t even fucking reply.”
I obviously mean a lot.
“It’s shit,” he agreed, allowing a moment for that thought to linger.“But you think Owen will help us?”
“He’ll help,” I insisted.“I just hope he isn’t on shift when we arrive.”
Owen’s promotion to the ER had been the job he’d always wanted, but it certainly kept him busy.
“If I had my phone, I’d call him, but I guess that’s still at the cabin.”I laughed at the craziness of that situation.My most prized possession in the world was goodness only knew how many miles away, and we were headed in the wrong direction.“But we’re not so far away from his place now.”
My gaze darted reflexively to the car’s in-built navigation system.In the aftermath of his admissions, Eli had noticed the screen and flicked it on to see if we could identify our whereabouts.The sat nav had placed us almost one hundred miles from our original location and significantly closer to where my brother resided, and miraculously, we had enough fuel to get us there.
“Owen will help us.”If worse came to worse, I knew where he kept his spare key, and I’d let us in myself.
