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Her face crumpled as she blinked up at me. ‘They’d give Maeve to him? But she’s too young, too sweet. I can’t let him have her.’
‘It didn’t cross your mind that Harold would want her?’
‘Yes, but it didn’t cross my mind that my father would actually stoop so low. She’s the baby of the family.’ Her eyes flared with anger as her mouth drew into a worried line. ‘You don’t think they’d have done it already?’
‘No. Not until they’ve heard from me. If I went back empty-handed I’d be out on my ass without a job, and they would stuff Maeve into your wedding gown and tumble her down the aisle.’
Esther sat up and looked around. ‘We need to get back on the road.’
‘Princess, come here.’ I pulled her back down against me, soothing her back with the palm of my hand as she trembled against my side. ‘Walking any more tonight won’t help. It’ll be too cold and your feet are ripped to shreds. I won’t let you damage yourself any more. Tomorrow we will hitchhike to the next big town and try to find an internet café, or someone who will let me get online. I can get access to cash and let your dad know we’re coming. With money, we can get to Barcelona and get another flight.’
It would be much simpler now that she wasn’t fighting me.
At the same time, the idea of bringing her home for a bank full of cash was becoming more and more sour in my mouth.
Stupidly, I wanted to keep her.
TWENTY-FIVE
ESTHER
All morning we’d tried to catch a lift towards town, but people were wary of stopping to pick up two raggedy strangers.
My feet burned as we limped along the road, each step like walking through a sea of lava as my blisters tore anew. Alec had done his best to wrap my feet in strips of a torn t-shirt to try to give me some relief. It had worked for a little while.
A sharp intake of breath gave me away. I’d tried so hard to hide the pain.
‘Esther? Are you okay?’
‘Yeah,’ I said through gritted teeth, taking another biting step with a wince.
‘Don’t lie to me.’ Alec pulled me up into his arms, the muscles of his forearms bulging beneath my knees. The relief was instant until the guilt pricked at me.
‘You can’t carry me to town.’
‘Watch me.’
The day’s heat already burned at my skin and we were both tired, sticky, and exhausted. Not to mention the grumbles than kept tearing from my stomach. We needed food, and sleep and a hot shower. I winced as Alec held me close, very aware of needing that shower.
‘Put me down, I’m sweaty and gross and you’re too tired to carry me.’
‘Princess, I wouldn’t care if you’d just walked out of a swamp. I won’t let you wreck your feet any further.’
We made our way down the road, glacially slow. It had barely been ten minutes and the veins in Alec’s neck were bulging. We couldn’t go on for long like this, not as tired as we both were. His jaw soon clenched with every step, his arms trembling beneath me.
‘Put me down, Alec.’
‘No.’
‘Listen, I won’t let you hurt yourself, either. We can rest for a little. It’s so hot and we’re both too tired. Walking when it’s cooler will be easier.’
Those icy blue eyes closed for a few seconds as he took a ragged breath. His shoulders slumped before he walked over to a shady spot beneath a tree and set me down. Fire shot up my legs as my feet connected with the ground.
‘God, what a state we are,’ I said, sitting and pulling off my shoes, moaning with relief as I pulled the crushing material away from my bloody feet. ‘I’m really sorry for burning your car. It was stupid.’
Alec sat down heavily next to me. ‘You were desperate, and desperate people do desperate things. I still can’t believe you had the balls to try it.’
‘I thought you liked me desperate.’ I raised my eyebrows as I dropped the last word into a sultry tone.
