AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Right,” she said. “It’s got a gun, a couple of syringes of tranquilizer, camping stuff, and an emergency beacon,” she told them.
They looked at her, not totally comprehending it.
“I activate it and the cavalry charges in and saves me,” she said.
“The cavalry in this scenario is the FBI?” Daniel asked.
Charlie nodded.
“And they whisk you back to the east coast?” he asked.
She could feel his eyes boring into her, and she couldn’t bring herself to meet them, her heart twisting in her chest.
“Yeah,” she said.
“No,” said Kade. He stood from the table and walked to the kitchen window, staring out of it at their front yard.
“Kade,” said Daniel.
“She can’t just leave!” he said, his hands gripping the countertop so tightly that Charlie thought it might crack.
“It’s a free country,” Daniel said. “She’s not our prisoner.”
“She’s not supposed to leave,” Kade said.
Charlie gritted her teeth, grabbed a hold of the table, and pushed herself to standing, ignoring the screaming in her back as her wounds moved under the bandages.
“Is that why you’ve been guarding me while I sleep?” she demanded. She was tired, and she felt a little lightheaded. “To make sure I don’t sneak out into the forest in the middle of the night? Do you really think I’m that dumb?”
Kade’s mouth fell open, and he stared at her.
“You think I was keeping you prisoner?” he asked.
Kade marched to the front door and flung it open.
“Go!” he shouted. “You want to go so badly, just leave!”
“Fine!” Charlie shouted.
She got one step toward the door before Daniel’s hand was on her arm and he stood, looking down at her.
“He doesn’t mean it,” he said. “He wasn’t keeping you prisoner, he was guarding you.”
“I don’t see the fucking difference,” Charlie snapped. She tried to pull her arm from Daniel’s grasp, but he was too strong, and it hurt to move her arm, anyway.
“I tried to get him to sleep in the bedroom, but he was convinced that you were going to stop breathing, or that the wolves were going to come back for you in the middle of the night,” Daniel said.
Charlie looked at Kade. He was still standing by the front door, glowering, his arms folded over his chest. The afternoon light slanted in, making his chest and arm muscles stand out, since he still wasn’t wearing a shirt.
“If you want to go, you can go,” Daniel said, more than a hint of sadness in his voice. “But I don’t think it’s a very good idea.”
“Is that true?” Charlie asked Kade.
He turned his head and looked outside for a split second, clearly working through something. Charlie had the feeling that he wasn’t the most expressive guy, or the best at talking through his feelings.
“I didn’t want to lose you,” he finally muttered. “I couldn’t sleep if I wasn’t sure you were safe.”
Charlie’s heart turned over in her chest, and suddenly, she was totally unsure that what she’d thought of Kade was right.
