Page 22 of Hunted Temptation
It’s a simple question, though it’s not a simple answer by any means. If I tell him it’s because I couldn’t walk away from her, that I thought she was intriguing, sexy, out of this fucking world, he may understand, but probably not. And if he did, he would demand that I marry her.
“What did she see?” he asks.
That is the question I don’t want to answer. “Everything,” I confess. “She saw it all. There was no way around it.”
That statement very well could be a lie, I’m not sure, but at the same time, I’m not going to dissect it. Sure, I could have probably shielded her from watching me shoot two men, but Idid shield her from seeing the third. And she doesn’t seem any worse for wear about it, either.
“That is a liability I don’t think we can have,” Theron murmurs.
He’s right, of course. Typically, I would have done it a completely different way, but the way I feel about Elodie, the way my body craves her, the way I couldn’t and can’t keep my eyes off her, there was no other way.
I don’t say any of this to Theron.
Instead, I only say two words. They're the only two words that come to mind. The only ones I can actually move my lips to form.
“I know.”
Theron clears his throat, and I imagine he runs his finger through his hair, closing his eyes in frustration. I would be just as frustrated if the tables were turned. I open my mouth to defend myself, but I don’t know what the fuck I would even say, so I close my mouth and shut the fuck up.
“We can’t let her walk. What is your plan?”
Swallowing hard, I close my eyes slowly. Thankfully, the water in the shower is still running, so I don’t have to have this conversation in front of her.
“She didn’t even flinch when I killed them,” I say.
Standing from the edge of the bed, I walk over to the window and look out at the motel’s parking lot. We’re the only car here, so it should be relatively easy to hear if anyone pulls up. The parking lot is gravel, and the tire crunch will echo in the emptiness.
“Was it shock?”
“Theron,” I grind out. “I couldn’t watch what was about to happen to her. What happened to us, that’s been happening to her, probably her entire life, at the hands of her own father and whoever else he brought in.”
The silence isn’t unnerving because I know he’s likely drifted into some kind of memory. An unlocked moment, no doubt, comes to mind for him. I don’t say a word, allowing him to work through whatever demon has entered his thoughts.
When he clears his throat, I know he’s back with me. Back here. In control and ready to reclaim his thoughts.
“What is your plan, Vaughn?”
“It’s a rough plan, but what I’ve got is this. I’m going to allow her to figure out her future. In doing that, she can stay with me until I feel she’s ready to transition to the safe house. Then she can stay there until she is able to start a real life for herself.”
“And you think in that, she won’t go to anyone with what she’s witnessed?”
The water to the shower turns off, and I slowly spin around to face the bathroom door. “She won’t. If she does, I will take full responsibility for it, for her.”
“You’re taking full responsibility for her anyway.”
“I promised she could have her father’s money,” I tell him the rest of the story.
Theron laughs. “Of course you did. I can agree to that. To be given to her when she’s ready to live her whole life, start her new life over?” he asks.
“Naturally.”
“I’m going to let you handle this the way you see fit, but if it affects Securus at all…” His words trail off, and I know exactly what he’s saying. He doesn’t have to spell it out for me.
“It won’t,” I say, stating a fact, and it is a fact because I won’t let any of this leak into Securus or any of the men’s, my brothers, lives, either.
The bathroom door opens. Ending the conversation, I tell Theron that I’ll text him in a little bit. Before I say anything to the woman standing across from me, steamy and still slightlydamp, I send Boden and Hale a text asking them to find out who the other fucker was in that house.
I forward them pictures of him, of the driver, and the license plate. I’ve been so busy locking shit down and getting Elodie out of that absolute hellhole that I haven’t had the opportunity to send it to them yet.
