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“What could you have done then? You treated it like anyone else would’ve. But now, things are different.”
“I’ve got a family. You. Asher. The stakes are even higher. I can’t let him do to Asher . . .” His growl ripped out, though he kept it low. “I’m sorry. I brought him right to you both. I should’ve run. Flown as far from here as I could. Found a place to hide where he’d never find me.”
“If you did that, I wouldn’t be with you.”
He shot me a sad look. “That’s the point.”
“The point is, I love you. We’re in this together. You’re not facing it alone.” Never again.
“He could hurt you. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“I’m not completely defenseless,” I said. “I’m in this equation too. You don’t get to decide everything.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Seeing that text . . . it triggered me. It was horrible. I can’t go through that again. And I won’t let him near you and Asher.”
“So we’ll run. We’ll hide. But we’ll stay together. When I said I love you, it’s forever. And forever started five years ago.”
“All right.” He paused, staring forward. “I think I know what . . .” His face cleared. “We’re not going to run.” When he looked my way, resolve and determination shone in his eyes. “We’ll pick up some supplies, and I’ll take you and Asher where you’ll be safe.”
“And then what?”
“I’m going to lure him out and finish this for the last time.”
Three hours later, he drove my vehicle down a bumpy logging road that didn’t appear to have been used in years.
Asher sat in his seat, quietly looking out the window at the forest around us. We’d all gone into the store and bought enough supplies for a week or so, used the bathroom, and went out a different door than the one we entered. It wasn’t much as far as hiding was concerned, but we didn’t drive directly to this destination. We took a very long, convoluted route and made sure we weren’t followed.
“What’s down here?” I asked, peering into the dense brush along my side of the rutted path. Shadows flickered on leaves, the sunlight barely penetrating the thick canopy above.
“I hid here after what happened with the commune. The place was abandoned ages ago. I fixed it up—somewhat—and I stayed there while I healed. In all honesty, I stayed in my other form most of the time, only changing when I thought I could bear to be myself. I wasn’t in a good place back then, but I’m back, and I’m healed.”
Another peek showed Asher wasn’t listening, but Gravor was wise to take care in what he said.
“You’re incredibly strong,” I said. “Most people wouldn’t have survived something like that.” He was a fighter. That could come from his dragon genes, or it was pure Gravor. “We’re going to be okay.”
Low branches brushed the top of the vehicle as he continued driving, the forest looming around us.
“Is this place on a map?”
He shrugged. “Probably not. I need to find out who owns it officially. I want to buy it. Keep fixing it up. It’s beautiful out here. Soothing. There’s a stream out back I used to sit beside. I’d fish there too, and it’s full of trout. We could come in the summer and just hang out.”
Under normal circumstances, I’d be eager to see it.
“I feel as if I’m coming full circle,” he said. “They started it, and I’ll finish it once and for all.”
About twenty minutes later, I spied an open area ahead, sunlight shining down on a tiny log cabin sitting in a meadow nestled against the woods. A crumbling chimney topped it, and the roof looked as if it needed replacing, but the two front windows appeared intact, as did the door.
“We’re going to stay here?” I asked.
“I hope only for a short time.” He brought the car to a halt and shut off the engine, staring forward. A tic thrummed in his temple. He reached out and took my hand, linking our fingers. “It’s going to be okay.”
“What are you going to do?”
“What I need to do.”
“What will that be?”
He looked my way, his expression bleak. “You don’t want to know.”
