Page 39 of Darkest Game
I stand up straighter. “Jack? As in…”
“Jack Finnigan.” The woman hiccups. “Liam killed my jack to get to Irina. He stole her away. I tried to stop him but I couldn’t. I wanted to save the girl. I didn’t think it was right what was happening to her. Being forced into a marriage. Being raped.”
Mikhail gives me a worried look. “What happened?”
“Liam raped her,” the woman sobs. “Just raped her right in front of me after he killed my beloved husband. I ran when I could and I came straight here. I’m so scared. I’m sorry. I never asked for this.”
“What’s your name?” I demand.
The woman looks up at me and to her credit, there are real tears on her face. I don’t get the sense that she’s lying. “I’m Elaine. My name is Elaine.”
“And Liam has Irina?” Mikhail asks. “You’re sure about that? Why would the wife of Jack Finnigan give up this information to us?”
“Because he killed my Jack!” she screams. “I have no love for him. I want Liam dead. And that poor girl… That poor, poor girl. She deserves to be reunited with her family.”
“Do you know where they could be?” I ask.
Slowly, Elaine nods. “I have some idea.”
Liam
It doesn’t take me long to realize that Irina is limping beside me. I have no idea how close or how far from the nearest town we are and this is only going to make things tougher. I know Elaine will be sending men this way to deal with me and Irina. I have a loaded gun but it’s still only so many bullets. Now I have to deal with a girl I never wanted to be with on top of it all.
A girl I risked my life to safe.
Fuck. Why did I even do that? It’s not like I love her or care for her.
But when I look at her, all I see is some pathetic, sad girl that I can’t help but feel bad for. At least, that’s what I tell myself. It’s not because I find her distractingly pretty. It’s not because she’s tiny and it brings out the urge to protect her. It’s not because she’s my wife. That means nothing to me.
If I keep telling myself these things, then sooner or later I’m going to believe it.
“Are you hurt?” I can’t stop myself from asking. If she’s seriously hurt then that’s a problem we’ll have to deal with sooner rather than later. I can’t have her slowing me down.
And frankly, I don’t want to leave her behind. I’m not going to leave her behind.
“I think when I was thrown to the floor,” she responds, staring at the ground with her arms wrapped around herself. “I hit myleg. But I can walk. It’s just painful. I don’t think it’s broken though.”
“If it were broken, I’m not sure you’d be able to walk at all. Take it from someone who’s had his fair share of broken bones in my life.”
She slants her eyes at me. “Which ones?”
I point to my left arm. “Broke it when I was a kid from falling off a jungle gym. I thought I was superman. Thought for sure I could fly. Boy, was I wrong.” I point to my right leg next. “Broke that when I was a teenager by jumping off the roof of a building and into a pool. They say a water landing is always better than landing on the ground but from a high enough height, water can be like cement. I couldn’t walk on it for a few months after and it took some physical therapy to regain full movement in it. My parents were not happy about it.”
“Sounds like you thought you were invincible.”
“Yeah.” I rub the back of my neck. “But I don’t think that anymore. I’ve been in too many life or death situations. It’s a miracle I’m still alive today.”
“It’s a miracle we both are. You saved my life. Again. Thank you.”
“Well, I’m the one who got you into this fucking mess to begin with so I’m not sure you should be thanking me.”
“Where are your parents?”
The change in subject startles me. “My parents?”
“You mentioned your parents weren’t happy about you breaking your leg.” She blushes the longer I look at her. It’s infectiously cute. “I was wondering where they are.”
“Oh. My mom is alive. She just couldn’t make the wedding in such a short time. Well… I didn’t tell her about it.”
