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And then the black cars arrive. The lead one screeches to a stop by our side, no more than a few yards away. August finds my hand and grips it tight in solidarity. His reassurance calms me down just a fraction, but I am still so, so scared.
The door to the black car swings aggressively open, and a pair of high heels swing out.
I gulp at the sight.
This is worse than I feared.
Alda Penmayne stands up straight and strolls bellicosely toward her son and me, her eyes completely obscured by the black designer sunglasses she’s wearing. Her burgundy pantsuit flows loosely around her slim figure as she glides in her trademark way across the airport runway in our direction.
Oh no.
“Mother...” August is quick to try to explain, but the regal woman simply raises a black-gloved hand, silencing him immediately.
“Get in the car, August,” she snarls. “I don’t want to hear another word from you.”
August looks at me.
“Emma...”
He tries to whisper to me, but Alda growls.
“No more words, August. Get in the car.”
I open my mouth to talk to him, but he shakes his head. I see something fade away in his eyes as he looks at me.
And he lets go of my hand.
And he walks away from me. To his mother’s car.
I watch him leave me, silently in shock. There are no words to say as my boyfriend walks away. There are no thoughts except one single word that pulsates through my head as I see him disappear inside the black vehicle.
Betrayal.
I turn to Alda. She’s looking in my direction, but her sunglasses are really blocking any semblance of emotion from her. The only clue that gives away anything is the tightness of her pursed lips as she regards me from across the runway.
“So,” I ask her, “what happens now?”
“You can walk back to the mansion,” she retorts without a hint of feeling.
I really mean nothing to her. I am as important as a squashed ant under her designer high heel.
And then my mom’s employer soars back into the passenger seat of the black car. On cue, one of the armed men shuts the door after her dutifully. The vehicle spins away toward the main road, and the rest of the men jog after, heading to their own cars - all presumably going to the Penmayne mansion. A small army on the move.
And I am left in their dust.
Without a way home.
Without August.
With only his betrayal to keep me company as I follow what Alda Penmayne told me to do and I begin to walk the many miles back to the mansion on the outskirts of Crystal River.
20
EMMA
It’s a long walk back to the Penmayne family mansion alone. But I do it. Slowly and painfully. One step at a time. I consider taking a bus at least some of the way, but I have no money with me, so I’m left with no option but to endure the miles.
I’m totally stranded, with only my feet to carry me home.
