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“You think someone can find me here?” Her voice is small, scared—childlike. Fuck. What the hell am I doing? I need to pull away, not get closer.
“Prepare for everything,” I say simply, stepping away before closing my eyes briefly as I turn around. “It’s not big by any means, but it’s enough to keep you safe until I get here.” Moving toward the doors, I close them, pulling the metal latch over to keep them closed. “Lock yourself in.”
“Wait… what?”
I turn to a wide-eyed Lily, witnessing the shock on her face. “You have to lock yourself in.”
“I…” She steps forward as she shakes her head before pushing the lock through the metal latch and closing it. “Then what?”
“Then you call me.” I widen my stance. “You tell me one word.” I make sure she’s listening before I say, “Teardrops.”
She frowns, the puzzled expression on her face making me smile. “Right. Okay.” She nods, staring at me.
I wait a beat, stuck in the web of her gaze. My legs beg for me to move closer, my palm itching to touch her soft, pale skin. But I keep my feet planted on the floor.
“Let’s go through it again.” I take the key from her, finally able to look away from her before opening the hatch and leading her back into the house. “This time on your own.”
The leaves crunch underfoot, the flashlight not giving much light as I jog the ten feet back to the house. Lily whispers something but I ignore it. I’m doing all of this for her safety, and whether she’s scared or thinks this is ridiculous, she’s still going to go through it again so I know she can do it.
I stand on the porch, watching her run toward the hatch doors, unlocking them and closing them behind her, hearing the sound of the lock seconds before my cell vibrates in my pocket with her name flashing on the screen.
Instead of answering the call, I move toward the doors, knocking and saying, “You can come out.”
The click as she unlatches the doors rings out and then she steps out, locking it behind her and pocketing the key.
We walk side by side back into the house, and when the fire is lit, heating the small space, I step away from it.
“I gotta go get ready to head out for a couple hours.”
“You’re leaving?” she asks, covering herself with a blanket on the sofa.
“Yeah,” I answer, not giving her anything else as I walk into the bathroom and jump into the shower.
I’ve never had
to explain my movements to anyone and I won’t be starting now. All she needs to know is I’ll be coming back, not where I’m going or what I’ll be doing.
After freshening up and putting on a dark pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I grab my leather jacket, pushing the door open and finding Lily asleep on the sofa.
I stand staring at her for a beat, watching her lips move with each breath she inhales and exhales, her eyelids fluttering as she moves her arm over her stomach. Peace radiates off her, but underneath I know she’s tense, the situation getting on top of her. Finding myself wishing I was staying with her right now has my feet moving toward the door, ready to escape.
Locking the door behind me, I head to my SUV, pushing my arms through my leather jacket and jumping inside. Leaving the lights off until I’m at the end of the private road, I halt at the end, wondering whether I should be leaving her right now.
I haven’t heard from Mom since we left her house that morning apart from one text asking me if Lily is safe. I reason if something was going on she would tell me—get ahold of me—but there’s this little voice in the back of my mind telling me something isn’t right.
Five days since the incident and nothing, not one word. There should be more than that, it’s quiet, way too quiet. But then again, everything is too settled right now. Dean, the mole, Lily’s father. Nothing is going how it’s meant to and I’m the one everyone is depending on to solve it all, when inside all I want to do is get on that sofa with Lily and get a full night’s undisturbed sleep. I can’t even remember what that feels like anymore.
When was the last time I slept more than three hours without waking up drenched in a sweat from my nightmares?
I jump in my seat when the ringing of my cell comes over my car speakers, and when I see Charlie’s name flashing, I answer it at the same time as I press my foot on the gas pedal.
“Hey,” I say, narrowing my eyes on the road.
“You on your way?” he asks, straight to the point.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in about two hours.”
“Two hours?” There’s a beat of silence. “Where the hell are you right now?”
