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“Are you cold?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No, this place just gives me the creeps.”
“The creeps?” I never thought of it as creepy.
“Yeah, like maybe you are actually a serial killer and this was your elaborate plan all along.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “You have a wild imagination.” The woods open up to a clearing where my cabin is, and it’s not just any old cabin. It’s modern and sophisticated.
“Wow, do you own this place?” Adrianna asks.
I nod. “I bought it when I needed to remain low while my family was looking for me.” It was a difficult time in my life. One fraught with loneliness and a little too much alcohol, but this place saved me. “It’s actually how I met Oak. He owns a cabin near to here and we met while we were both hiking.”
“And that’s how you got the job at the academy?”
I nod.
“How did you afford all this?”
“When I escaped from Dublin, I had no plan, just a few belongings. But I had a lot of money in my bank accounts, which my father couldn’t touch. It was enough to set me up for life, but the issue was that if I used it too soon, then my father could easily track me.” I run a hand across the back of my neck. “However, before boarding a plane to American I wire transferred the money to buy this place to a friend who bought it in their name.”
“That sounds complicated.”
I nod. “The money has sat in those accounts dormant, waiting until I can find someone to pull the cash for me somehow.” I tilt my head. “Gav has hooked me up with a Russian hacker he knows in New York who has ties at a banking institute which can move the money and hide where it goes, no questions asked.”
Adrianna looks surprised. “Why do you need the money now?”
I swallow hard. “I’m hoping that you will allow me to come with you.”
Adrianna stares at me for a few moments. “Are you serious?”
“Of course. I want to stay with you and help you build a new life.” I pause for a moment. “Build a new life, together.”
“What about the academy?” she asks.
“It’s not as important to me as you are.”
Her eyes fill with unshed tears, and for the first time she shows me some real emotion.
“Gav wondered why I wanted the money, but didn’t ask questions. I told him and Oak last night I was leaving with you and hopefully not coming back, if you agreed.”
Adrianna cries then, tears streaming down her face.
“Don’t cry, baby girl,” I say, wiping her tear away.
She swallows hard. “It’s just that I have been dreading saying goodbye to you ever since we came up with this crazy plan.”
My heart swells, hearing her finally admit that she does indeed feel the same way I do. “Took you long enough.”
“I’m sorry. I have never learned how to deal with my emotions correctly.” She laughs, but it’s half-hearted. “I guess that’s what happens when you are brought by criminals.”
“To be honest, I’m not sure I ever did either.”
She arches her brow. “Well, you are pretty in touch with your emotions, I’d say.”
“With you, yes. As I just know that we’re meant for each other.”
“I’ve been so terrible to you, though.”
