“Zane please,” she looked directly into his eyes, she neededhim to see that she was serious. “Please let me go, take me back home. I don’twant to be trapped here, I’m not weak I’m not some weak child that needs yourhelp. I was happy on my own…”
“Were you?” He asked softly, his smile completely fadedleaving only the hard angles of his face and firm set lips.
Frustrated to the verge of tears she yelled. “Yes!”
Receiving no response just his unending stare she yankedback on her arm hoping to make a run for the gate. The wet leaves under thesoles of her boots caught her backward momentum instead. Pitching backwards,she felt her balance slip from her grasp, she watched Zane’s face change toshock in mere seconds.
The grip underneath her arm and around her stomach stunnedher nearly as much as the near fall. Looking up, she scrambled to secure herfooting when she saw the glimpse of scruff from the dark beard, Reid. Settingher upright Everly turned towards him, instinctively she wanted to say thankyou, but her pride refused. She shouldn’t even be here!
As if sensing her oncoming accusations, Reid spoke first.“Have you eaten?”
Back inside the warm cabin, Reid waved her to sit down atthe large kitchen island. Letting Zane help her take her jacket off she handedhim the hat and gloves. Reid began taking out various ingredients from thefridge when Zane came back sliding onto the barstool next to her. Wearing ahunter green and burgundy button-down flannel shirt, Reid had his sleevesrolled up just under his elbow. Grabbing an egg from the carton on the counternext to him, Everly watched the corded muscles flex underneath his tattooedforearm. Remembering the tattoos on Zane’s arm at the bank she wondered if theydecided together on getting them.
The kitchen island faced the back wall, allowing her to lookout the long kitchen windows that overlooked the water Reid was working on thecounter next to them with his back towards her as he cooked. Again, her eyeswere drawn to the dark patterns embedded into his arm. “You aren’t really ateacher, are you?”
The question came out louder than she intended, the quietwarmth of the kitchen momentarily disrupted. But Reid never stopped hismovements even as he answered. “No, but I like to think I make a pretty goodone.” Stirring something into a large silver bowl, she watched him raise hishead as if to really consider his own teaching merits.
Zane snorted in response.
“You weren’t very nice to people,” she whispered.
Zane laughed out loud this time, smiling easily at hisbrother’s back, knowing he could feel it. “That was a polite way of saying youwere an asshole.”
Reid slowly looked over his shoulder, shooting Zane adangerous look before grabbing another egg.
“I was never mean to you, despite the fact you werefrightened of me,” his voice softened, threading his gravelly voice in velvet.
The soft roughness of his voice challenged her to find atime where he was cruel to her as he was with her classmates—she couldn’t.
Frowning, she sat straighter in her chair, that was besidethe point, the man was a criminal. “Well not for good reason as it turned out,”she bit back.
Everly could only hear Zane’s “touché” under his breath asshe continued to stare at Reid’s broad back as he prepared the food. Was that asmile? Everly could swear she could see the rise of his cheeks as if he wassmiling. Not once had she seen Reid smile, she had started to doubt he evencould. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she wished he would turn aroundand smile at her. Anything to confirm he wasn’t a complete monster, justsomething to waylay the constant fear eating at her.
Turning to Zane, she caught his curious gaze. “How did youget Mrs. Hornsby to leave?”
“That didn’t take much,” Reid answered as he pouredsomething onto the skillet in front of him. “Since her husband worked from homeand watched their twin boys, that was simply a matter of pulling a few strings.That forced him to go into work, resulting in her having to stay home.”
His matter-of-fact, clinical tone bristled her every nerve.
“How can you be so nonchalant with up-heaving that poorwoman’s life just so you can pretend to be my teacher?” Clutching at the metalcounter’s edge, she ignored the fact that she was yelling at two men who hadher trapped on their remote island cabin.
Finally, he turned around, his hard face completelyimpassive to the storm of emotions she was feeling. Setting down the plate offood in front of her, Reid meet her gaze. His face may have been indifferent,but his cold eyes glittered like a winter storm.
“I needed to see you for myself,” his answer was dark andcalm.
Tears welled up in her eyes, angrily she tried to blink themaway as she stared at the steaming food in front of her. They could not bereasoned with, she understood that now. This type of unyielding wall wasn’tforeign to her, she encountered it her whole life growing up. A wall built onstubborn, selfish pride but instead of her father on the other side wanting tokeep her trapped in their family’s traditions it was these two keeping hertrapped for their own delusional pleasure. There was no use reasoning withthem, escape was her only option.
“Where’s mine?” Zane grumbled at Reid, looking at her plateof scrambled eggs hungrily.
Looking up she watched Reid drag his gaze from her where hehad been watching and shoot Zane a look that told him he could make his own.
“Do you rob banks often?”
Setting some familiar pill-bottles in front of her, Reidgave her a stern look. “No. Eat and take your vitamins.”
It was prenatal vitamins. The same vitamins that sat on herkitchen counter by her microwave in her apartment. There was nothing theydidn’t think of, that only made her swallow nervously.
Shooting Reid, a lethal glare at his brusque tone, Zane gaveher an understanding smile. “No, we only did that because we were bored out ofour skull waiting on another job to come in.”
