Page 56 of The Truth Between

“Seriously. It’s just that I wanted time to think about everything.”

“You can think about it in my bed.”

Soren wasn’t relenting and I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I didn’t want this to continue going on and have him get even more suspicious.

“Fine. I’ll sleep in your bed tonight.”

“Excellent and I’ll have Franklin move your things into my room tomorrow.”

“Sounds. . . great.” A small smile appeared on my face, but I was anything but happy.

Now things were way more complicated, and I had to find a way to sneak out of his bedroom tonight.

34

IRIS

The soft, rhythmic sound of Soren’s breathing was all I could hear as I lay in his arms. It was a stark contrast to the frantic beating of my own heart. It was strange seeing him so at peace.

I lifted my head from his chest and my gaze landed on the digital clock on his nightstand. The red numbers displayed 2:30 a.m. I needed to be out of here by 3:15 a.m., according to Aria’s last text. Yet I still hadn’t figured out a way of getting out of here without waking him.

Just as I was building up the courage to slide out of bed, the shrill ring of a phone sliced through the room’s quietness. My body went rigid, and panic was the only emotion I felt. But as Soren’s hand shot out to grab the phone, I pretended to be half-asleep, filled with grogginess. I turned to him and forced a yawn that almost sounded real.

He glanced at me before trying to read the phone’s screen. He sighed and said, “I have to take this.”

I made a sleepy murmur, acting the part of someone who was woken up suddenly.

Soren answered the call. “Hello?” His voice, though low, sounded very irritated because he’d been disturbed at this hour.

I forced my breathing to remain even while straining to catch snippets of the conversation.

“Yes? Now? Understood.” There was a pause, and he sighed. “I’ll be there.”

Hanging up, he turned to face me, the lines of his face hardened with resolve. “I have an assignment I need to complete. Hopefully this is the last one I have to do for a while. I’ll be back soon,” he whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead.

“Why do you have to go? Can someone else do it?” I had to say I was impressed with my acting skills because, while I did want him to leave to make this easy on me, I was doing a pretty good job of pretending I didn’t want him to.

Or maybe some part of me didn’t want him to go.

“It’s something only I can do.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay. Be safe.” I could lie and say that I was pretending to be concerned, but I was genuinely worried about him. I wasn’t sure when that feeling had come to be, but here it was.

“Always,” he replied.

I watched through barely parted eyelids as he swiftly dressed and left the room.

The door clicked shut, and I let out a deep breath. Things were going to be very different when he returned.

Silence surrounded me as I waited, choosing to watch the clock to make sure that Soren was actually gone and not coming back for a little while. When I heard the house creak from old age or settling, it did make me nervous because each sound seemed more magnified than normal.

When the clock struck 2:50 a.m., I whipped the covers off my body and left Soren’s bedroom. I did my best not to make a sound as I walked down the hallway, grateful that the holiday lights were still up, giving me more light than I normally would have had.

I dashed into the guest bedroom and ran into the bathroom, where I quickly opened the drawer that held Aria’s phone. Sure enough, there was a new message from her.

Unknown Number: Everything’s a go. Follow the path I sent you, and you’ll get out of that mansion without a hitch. You’ll need to walk a bit, but I’m parked right between Soren’s place and the closest neighbor’s house. We can do this.

My lip trembled slightly as I was overcome with emotion about what was happening. There was no way I was going to be able to repay her for this. Ever.

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