Page 10 of Festive Fugitive
I didn’t question him then.
I never dared question him after being punished for it once.
A deep shudder goes down my back as I remember the state of panic I stayed in for a length of time I’m still not sure of. It was dark, and by the time Sullivan released me, his men had to rehydrate me with IVs. An adult can only survive without water for three days tops, so my best guess is that I was locked up for a bit less than that.
I never disobeyed after my release, and this man freed me. There can be no greater kindness than that.
“I’m sorry.”
Eli takes another shuddery breath, but has to wipe away tears when he reveals his face again. I clench my fists on my thighs, fighting the urge to pull him into my arms. Maybe that’s what I get for being treated no better than an attack dog.
“Thank you. We spent over two years in a court battle with my mom’s side of the family, and they were supported by Sullivan. I don’t want to bore you with details. It was ugly, exhausting, took all our savings. It was just me and my dad against the world.” Eli gives the artificial Christmas tree in the corner a longing glance. “At my wits end, I started telling my dad how I want to just go and shoot him. Fucking split him open with a chainsaw or smash his brains into the sidewalk. I couldn’t stand that Sullivan had so much power, and no matter what we did, our lawyers couldn’t win the battle.”
Eli shakes his head and slouches. “Everything went to shit from there. My dad he… He had a gentle soul. When we lost everything, he… took his own life. But it’s really Sullivan who has blood on his hands. He ruined everything I had. I’m not even gonna get into how my last two years looked like. The revenge plot in my head was the only thing fueling me.”
“So you did plan this,” I say softly and offer him a protein bar when I notice the distinct rumble in his stomach. We didn’t get to enjoy our sandwiches for very long after all.
It makes me giddy that Eli doesn’t hesitate to take it. Like I brought my new master a ball and he chose to play with it.
“Well… yeah. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get close enough. He’s always got bodyguards around. I also considered that I might threaten him, make him beg for my forgiveness, like he made me and my dad beg for our lives five years ago. When I saw an opening, I took the shot.” Eli doesn’t look into my eyes as he bites into the protein bar. “I wasn’t thinking. But he deserved it, didn’t he?”
Confirmation shoots from my mouth so fast I’m almost embarrassed about its breathiness. I can’t make myself meet his gaze, because had I been escorting Sullivan last night, the bastard would likely still breathe. I could never resist his commands, even though he wasn’t worthy of me. But Eli? Eli is. I can sense it with every cell in my body.
“I worked for him once.” It’s not exactly a lie, since my service is now as over as Sullivan’s life, but I still dread to see disgust in the gray eyes.
Eli chews slower and eyes me with suspicion that makes me want to prove myself to him. “In… what capacity?”
He won’t know unless I tell him, but the obedient dog deep inside me curls up in shame as I lie. “Bodyguard. But then I—” My hand rises to touch the artificial eye. It’s designed to be as realistic as possible, and since I suddenly lack the words to explain what happened, it’s easiest to just pluck it out and show him.
“What are you doi—” His eyes grow wide and at first, he puts his hand on my forearm to stop me, but then he must finally realize it’s artificial and lets go. “Oh. How did that happen?” His voice is so full of empathy I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t let anyone see my weaknesses, because in my experience they always end up being exploited. But the way he’s watching me now appears so genuine I long to rest my chin on his knee and let him pet me. As if it was Friday, and I was let off my chain to seek pleasure and bury myself in the fragrant warmth of another body.
I need to stop thinking of him like that.
“Injured on the job. It’s nothing that interesting.”
“And he fired you?”
“Moved me to other work.” More like, started ignoring my existence and the promises he made. That was why I was there to see everything unfold. “But I couldn’t leave. He still owed me a final payment.”
Eli laughs nervously. “Good thing you weren’t on the job when I made my move. I would have probably not made it out.”
A smile tugs on my lips. “Probably not. I’m happy it didn’t work out that way.”
“Wait.” Eli squints, looking straight into my eye. “Did you sabotage that Christmas tree so it fell on the cops?”
My toes curl at the sense of pride gripping every bit of my body. Sullivan never acknowledged me like this. “I might have.”
Eli chuckles. “I want to show my gratitude somehow, but I had to leave my car behind so I’ve got literally nothing. Too bad there’s no eggnog hidden in Santa’s Grotto, because at least we could get smashed before the inevitable capture by cops in the morning.”
“No,” I say, raising my chin to meet his gaze. I place both my hands on his knees and squeeze them in reassurance, because this is something I know. Eli freed me from Sullivan, and if I can make myself useful to him in return, maybe it will give me a sense of being done with my past life. Maybe then, I’ll be able to turn a new leaf even without the tattoo I’m owed?
“No?” He hesitantly glances at my hands.
I rise to my knees and nod, because I’m more certain with each heartbeat. Eli doesn’t deserve to rot in prison because of a good deed most people wouldn’t dare to acknowledge as such. But I know how much Sullivan’s death can mean to a man, and I’ll not let that happen.
“There’s a cabin in the woods. We can wait out the manhunt there.”
“As in… it’syourcabin?” Eli licks his lips, and now I want to lick them too. Fuck. He issolickable all over. I would love nothing more than to bury my face in his armpit and rest. I can restrain myself though. I’ve done nothing but that all my life.
