AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The muscles along Sebastian’s jaw corded. A brief surge of anger darkened his face, casting his chiseled features into stone.
“Don’t look at me like that. If I didn’t trust you, you would have never been here, Taylor. You would have never made it out of the woods, let alone survived that first week. It’s not you that I don’t trust, it’s everyone else on the face of this godforsaken planet that raises my doubts.”
He rolled away from her with a disgusted shake of his head. She reached for him, only to have him level her with a look that should have dropped her dead. Heart pounding, she lowered her hand.
“Before you say something we will both regret I want you to think about one thing. If Laychee’s men had taken you or Marx had decided to toss you in some undisclosed location instead, how would I have found you? The minute I got out of that warehouse, I was pulling up your location on my phone. Injured or not, I was on my way and I would have done anything to get you back. That GPS isn’t something ugly, Taylor. It’s our lifeline in the face of danger.”
His words washed over her. Closing her eyes, she tried to see his side of things, but it still stung. It never occurred to her that he might have been tracking her in some way, but had she really expected anything less? In today’s age, even if she had decided to leave him, the necklace would have made little difference. There were cameras on every street corner, at every stop light, and inside every building one could imagine. Even phones and computers had built in cameras or location devices agencies or hackers could trigger. There was nowhere a person could hide. Not anymore. They lived in the age of Google where everything was available to everyone. Privacy and safety didn’t exist.
Unable to look at him, she shifted her focus to the ceiling and the gently whirling blades of the fan overhead.
The same applied to Marx and his men. It was why they were both trapped; living under some sick, perpetual shadow they couldn’t escape. She was no safer out there, on her own, than she was here. At least here, she had Sebastian. He had his fair share of flaws and imperfections, but there was no doubt in her mind he would lay down his life for hers or the people he loved.
Glancing over, she found him perched on the edge of their bed, his head lowered and his face hidden from view.
“You know that’s not the only reason,” he confessed. “But it is the one that was most important to me. Everything I do is to protect you, Taylor, from yourself and from others. I won’t apologize for that and it is never going to change. I suggest you find a way to make yourself right with it.”
The sharp edge creeping into his voice drew her attention. Taylor winced. Just like that, the walls were coming back up. He was hurt and when Sebastian felt wounded, his emotions shut down and his temper flared. She could already feel the distance creeping between them as his accusing glare swung her way. An icy prickle of apprehension danced down her nape, and Taylor frantically searched for a way to undo the damage her curiosity had caused. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with a stern shake of his head.
“Don’t,” he warned, his voice coming in a harsh rasp. “I don’t want to hear your reasons or excuses. I’ve told you before not to question me. This is why. I can’t lose you, Taylor. I just can’t. I would go out of my mind and die.”
“That’s not going to happen, Sebby. This is my home. You are the very air I breathe. Every single beat of my heart is a reflection of you and the life we share.”
Keeping his head bowed, he nodded, his shoulders slumping. “Things aren’t getting any better, baby. I’ve tried. I’m so damn tired.”
“I know,” she soothed, pressing closer to rub the small of his back.
“I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know how to make him stop. There’s only one option left, Taylor, but I need to get you somewhere where he can’t get you. I need to make sure you are safe and out of harm’s way.”
“Sebastian…” the air fled her lungs. It felt as if the very walls themselves were closing in on her. Panic threatened and she couldn’t breathe.
Turning to face her, he took her hand in his. His thumb stroked lightly over the top of her hand, the gesture tender, yet somehow terrifying.
“I love you, baby. I love you so damn much it hurts. I have to protect you and our baby. It’s my duty.” Pain ravaged his handsome features, making them furrow and twist. His body rose and fell with his heavy sigh. “Protecting you is my duty. Saving my country from people like Marx and their twisted agendas is my job.”
Something hot and scalding pierced her chest. She knew where this was going before he even said the words. Her hold on his hand tightened until her knuckles bleached.
“Sebby….no. Don’t do this. Don’t say that. You promised,” she choked. “You looked me in the eye and you promised me you would never leave.”
Rearing back, he snared her cheeks between his hands and tilted her face up to his. His hold was firm and the glint in his eyes hardened. “I will never abandon you, Taylor. I would never just walk away. How could I? You are my heart and soul, the life flowing through my veins and the only thing in this world that keeps me going.”
“Then why are you thinking about sending me away?”
“Because if there is even a chance of keeping you alive until all of this is over then that is a sacrifice I have to make. Not for me, but for you. For both of you. I promise you when this is all said and done, I will come for you. I will find you, baby. Let me do this much for you. I need to…” He closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping beneath the invisible weight of defeat. “I need to know I tried.”
“No,” she said, refusing to let her mind wrap around the things he was saying.
He was scared, caged, and faced with an insurmountable amount of worry. As understandable as that was, those things were blinding him and he wasn’t thinking clearly. The reality of their situation was bleak at best. It terrified her to think of where things might lead, especially with the previews of such still so fresh in her mind, but there were no easy answers here and no true forms of escape.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she stated. “I’m not stupid. I know what I’m facing, and I know Marx has it in for me, but you and I both know it doesn’t matter where I go. If I leave, he will track me down and he will kill me. That much is guaranteed. I’m not running.”
“Taylor…”
“No. Just once, you are going to listen to me,” she said. Her voice thickened as she tried to hold her tears at bay, and she ran her fingers over the dark golden stubble on his chin. “I face the same risks either way. I want to stay. I want to be here with you. You are my life and no one else would ever protect me the way you do. I’m strong enough to do this, Sebastian. Let me prove that to you. I should get that choice, Sebby. I should have that much say.”
“I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you. I couldn’t handle that guilt, Taylor.”
“You would have nothing to feel guilty about, because this was my choice. It’s my decision.” She lost her battle and hot tears streamed over her cheeks as she felt the devastating loss and pain their separation would cause. “Don’t make me go. Don’t send me out there where I could die alone and afraid. Please don’t do that to me, Sebastian, please. I want to stay with you and spend every second I can by your side. If anything does happen, I will fight my ass off to survive but if I have to die, I want to do that here. At least I will have spent my last days feeling happy and loved.”
“Taylor.”
He tried again, but she cut him off with a muffled sob.
“Please don’t do this to me. Please don’t send me away. Please. Just the thought of losing you is killing me.”
He hauled her against him, crushing her against his chest. His lips pressed repeatedly against the top of her head in a desperate attempt to calm her down and soothe her. She clung to him, her fingers gouging deep into his shoulders as she tried to
muffle her sobs. Pulling her into his lap, he rocked her back and forth while kissing the side of her head. He cradled her close and she could feel the pained tremors running through him as well as the warm droplets that fell from his face and soaked through her hair.
After a few moments, Sebastian eased her onto the mattress and stretched out beside her. His hands roamed over her cheeks, drying her tears.
“I already have a meeting arranged,” he said. Though his tone was soft, there was a firm edge that warned what he was about to say wasn’t up for debate. “We’re going to have lunch before we head to the airport, and I am going to hear what my contacts have to say. I can’t make any promises, Taylor. Keeping you safe is what is most important to me.”
“Does that mean there is at least a small chance?” she asked, unable to keep the shaky hint of hope out of her voice.
Forcing a smile, he ran his thumb over her lips. “It depends on what their plan is and what sort of reassurances they can give, but yes.”
Sniffing, she turned her attention back to the ceiling and covered the small bulge of her baby bump with both hands. “I hope their plan sucks.”
He offered a wry smirk in response. “That kind of attitude and language is only going to get you into trouble, darling. Let’s divert your focus to more important things.”
“Like what?” she asked, both tone and voice sullen.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her scowling pout. Creeping lower, he planted tender kisses against her abdomen and cradled the small, hard swell below her belly button between his hands. His eyes sparkled as he lifted his gaze to hers.
“Our little bobble-head needs a name.”
For the moment, he looked so proud…so content, that she couldn’t help but play into his hand. She laughed, squirming slightly as he murmured something against her belly making his breath fan her and the low timbre of his voice vibrate against her skin. Snaring her hips, he stilled her wiggling just long enough to nuzzle the inside of her thigh.
