Page 7 of Follow Me Down

“You’re pretty far from home. What were you doing out at Rocks Peak?”

“Just trying to get away for a while.” I shrug, taking my first bite of biscuits and gravy. This time Idomoan. I can’t help it. It’s that good. Either that or I’m just so hungry that anything would be moan worthy at this point.

“Good?” He seems pleased by my reaction.

“So good.” I immediately go in for another bite.

“So,” he waits until I’ve chewed and swallowed before continuing, “you wanna clue me in on how a little time away at Rocks Peak ended up with you on the back of my buddy’s motorcycle?” He cocks a brow, a smile playing on his lips. “You don’t strike me as the kind of girl that would hop on some random dude’s bike.”

“I’m not,” I admit. “Well, not typically.”

“So then what happened? Given the state of you last night, I’d say that you left in a hurry.”

“Let’s just say that things took a turn and I needed a quick escape.”

“You don’t want to talk about it. I respect that. But if someone fucked with you and you need someone to fuck back, I’m your guy.” He hitches his thumb at himself.

“I appreciate that, but honestly, you don’t even know me.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He shovels another bite into his mouth. “Titus brought you here which makes you one of us. We look out for our own.”

My chest tightens at his words. I’ve known him for less than a day, yet he’s already offering to go to bat for me. My own father has never done that in my eighteen years on this earth. It saddens me to think why that is. Why a perfect stranger would stand up for me, be there for me without having to ask, when my own father doesn’t do the same.

“So what, I’m one of you now?” I joke, poking my fork in his direction.

“Damn straight. Didn’t you get the memo? We’re the island of misfit toys. Well, not really an island.” He looks around the room. “But you get the point.”

“Is that why you made the comment about strays last night?” His offhanded comment coming back to me.

“You listen, I’ll give you that. But no, that’s not what I meant by strays.” He gives me a look that tells me maybe I don’t want to know what he meant.

“Oh.” I stab my fork into a biscuit.

“Listen, I don’t know what happened, and clearly you don’t want to talk about it, and that’s fine. Just know that if you need to lay low for a while, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need.”

“Really?” I question, having not really considered staying here past the one night. Hell, I didn’t intend to stay here last night either, but I wasn’t really given much of a choice.

Then again, it’s really pretty perfect. My father will never be able to find me here. That’s always been my concern with leaving. I knew that no matter where I go, my father would find me. Given his unlimited access to resources, I’d probably be gone a day before he’d track me down. And no matter how adamant I’d be about not coming home, he’d find a way to drag me back.

But here? Not even my father would think to look for me all the way out here. Not that I plan to stay here permanently, but a few days would buy me time to figure out my next move.

Am I really considering staying with two complete strangers?

It’s not that my father is a bad man, he isn’t. But he’s not necessarily a good one, either. He’s driven and determined and never lets anything stand in the way of him reaching a goal. Unfortunately, that doesn’t usually bode well for me. Somewhere along the way I became more of a chess piece in his game to power than his daughter.

He has every aspect of my future planned. Where I’ll go to college. What I’ll major in. Where I’ll live. Hell, he is probably already lining up potential future husbands for me as we speak. He’ll want to make sure I marry someone that has a promising future. All to further his plans to one day make a run for the presidency. He thinks if he projects the perfect image there’s no way he will lose. Too bad he’s using me as a sacrificial lamb to do so. It's not my life to make choices about. Honestly, I’m not sure if it ever was. Deep down I know that if I go back now, I’ll never get out.

“Really.” Link cuts into my thoughts.

It takes me a minute to pull my mind back to the present.

“And how does Titus feel about this?” I ask, his name feeling foreign on my lips.

“He brought you here, didn’t he? Besides, if he wanted you gone, he would have been hauling your ass out the door first thing this morning. That’s typically how it works. He brings home a stray, feeds it, and then drives it to some remote location. There, he leaves it on the side of the road so he never has to see it again. You, my dear, are not the typical stray.”

“How’s that exactly?” I ask, not sure I’m really following what he’s trying to say.

“Because he let you sleep in his bed, and he wasn’t in it.”

---