Page 72 of They Will Fall

“Good.” He opens his arms wide. “Now, come give your dad another hug. I’ve missed you so much.”

My heart doubles in size as I step into his embrace. “I love you, Dad.”

He kisses the top of my head and his voice reverberates in my ear. “I love you, too. I’m glad you’re safe and you found someone who protects you.”

I step away frommy dad and take Ridge’s hand. As we walk away, I blow a kiss over my shoulder at them, making my mother beam with happiness as she returns it.

“So,” Ridge begins, his thumb grazing my fingers as we move quickly to get out of the cold. “How’d I do?”

“With my parents? Honestly, I’m pretty impressed.”

“What?” He huffs a laugh. “That I was nice? What do you take me for, some deranged psychopath?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” I give him a playful grin.

“No. Please don’t.” He shakes his head at me and I smile even wider.

We both laugh as we continue walking, hand in hand. Fortunately it’s a short walk to Lev’s car, but it’s still far enough from the cabin that we’re out of eyesight from everyone else.

It doesn't matter, though. Even in the dead of the night, with snow falling and critters foraging around us, I’ve never felt safer. Ridge has a way of making me feel like the most important person in the world. I know, without a doubt, he’d lay his life on the line for me. But as my feelings grow stronger and stronger, I’m beginning to think I wouldn’t want him to. I’d want to be the one to lay my life on the line for him. I’d do anything for him, for all of them. Which is exactly why I need to tell him the truth about the girl I hid out with the day I was kidnapped.

The only audible sound is the crunching of leaves beneath our feet and a couple coyotes howling in the distance. But the thoughts in my head drown out any forest noises. How do I tell the guy who thinks he has no family that he might have a sister? I guess that’s not the part I’m struggling with. How do I tell a guy that his sister is the reason I was kidnapped in the first place? That she gave me up just so she could get a ride to BCU, where she thought she’d find Ridge. Curiosity has me wondering if she made it back to The Academy safely. I shouldn't care. Especially after what she did to me. I can’t help but wonder, though. If Temper does turn out to be a relative of Ridge’s, I may have to suck it up and forgive the girl, even if I never get an apology.

My mind swirls with thoughts of what she could have been thinking selling me out like that. She had to know it wouldn't go well. Was Stanley that good at manipulating people that he made her actually believe he didn’t want to hurt me? Could this all just be a misunderstanding on her part?

We make it to Lev’s car, and Ridge opens the passenger door for me. I climb inside, cupping my hands around my mouth for warmth.

Ridge gets in the driver’s seat and closes the door before bringing the engine to life. He looks at me, eyebrows raised as his hands run around the steering wheel. “I can’t believe he’s letting me drive his car. He’ll have my head if I fuck this car up.”

“In that case, drive slow. Very, very slow.”

“Nah.” Ridge smirks. “You only live once.” He shifts into drive and slams on the gas, kicking dirt up behind him as he whips down the trail.

I can’t help but laugh because he’s like a child with a new toy. I’ll set aside my fear of crashing into one of these nearby trees and let him enjoy it while he can. The calm before the storm. The storm that I have to bring.

A few minutes later, we’re on the paved road and he’s slowed the pace of the car a bit. He reaches over, his hand resting on my lap.

It’s now or never. I have to tell him.

“Ridge?” My voice is almost a whisper. As if I don’t want him to hear me. I sort of don’t because then I won’t have to say what I’m about to say.

“Yeah?”

Here goes nothing… “Remember earlier I tried to tell you and Lev something, but we were interrupted when Maddox showed up on the trail?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry, Angel. What was it you needed to say?” His thumb rubs circles on my leg.

I place my hand over his and gulp. “There’s a small detail I left out when Maddox’s dad took me.” I pinch my fingers together, squinting my eyes. “Just a really small thing. I couldn't say anything before because I was afraid it would distract us and I didn’t want a little thing to distract us.” It’s a lie. This is a huge thing. Bigger than huge.

“Well, what was it?” He chuckles. “What’s this super small thing?”

“When he took me, he took me from a dorm room.”

His eyes widen and he glances at me before looking back to the road. “Whose dorm room?”

“It wasn’t a guy, if that’s what you’re worried about?”

“Better not have been. I’ve killed enough people this semester.”

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