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Releasing a long sigh, Elliot drops his head. “I know. And I know you breaking into the safe is the smartest way to go about this. But I can’t stop worrying that something is going to go horribly wrong.”
“I’ll be okay,” I say as confidently as I can. Rising up on my tiptoes, I plant a kiss on his lips. “I’ll keep training, and I’ll be ready.”
With a shuddering breath, he nods. I’m not used to seeing him like this, and I don’t think he’s used to this level of anxiety, either.
“I’m sorry,” he mutters. “I’m supposed to be the brave one, but lately all I can think about is . . .” He grimaces and shakes his head. “I feel like I’ve been stripped of a layer of armor I didn’t even know I had.”
“I know the feeling,” I whisper as I shut my eyes against the images of that cold, dark basement. The water, the mounting pressure in my lungs, the absolute terror that plagued my mind. I shiver.
“When this is all over, we’re taking you wherever you want to go,” Elliot says. “And we’re going to forget about all of this for a week and just be. We can explore a new city, spend time with each other, and be normal.”
“I’d like that.”
Apingsounds from Elliot’s pocket, and he sighs before fishing his phone out. After staring at the screen for a second, his face falls. “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Our security system lets us know whenever someone gets close to the perimeter of our property, especially the driveway. It’s connected to our phones, so when it’s one of us, it says that as well. But we’re all here.” He moves to one of the windows that faces the front yard, and his frown deepens. “That’s my mom’s car. What the fuck are my parents doing here?”
“Ell.” Oliver jogs into the kitchen, followed closely by Rhett. “Did you see the notification?”
“Yeah. It’s my parents. I’m sorry, guys. I didn’t know they were showing up today.”
“It’s fine,” Rhett says. “But we can’t let them past the front room. We have too many incriminating things laying around right now.”
“Would it be horrible of us to pretend we’re not home?” Elliot asks hopelessly.
Rhett sighs. “We’ve got too many lights on. Let’s just see what they want and try to send them away as quickly as we can.”
“Any clue why they’re here?” Oliver asks.
“Fuck. My mom texted me this morning, but I had so many notifications that I cleared them all without looking at it.” Just as Elliot reaches for his phone, the doorbell rings. He throws me an apologetic glance. “You can stay here, love. They can be a lot.”
“Elliot,” Oliver exclaims. “That’s not fair to her.”
“Shit. I didn’t mean it like that.” Elliot’s eyes are pleading as he turns to me. “I’m not trying to hide you from them, Wren. I’m trying to keepthemfromyou.”
“They do suck,” Oliver says. “Royally.”
“That’s putting it lightly,” Rhett grumbles before spinning on his heel and marching toward the front door.
“But we’re not keeping you hidden away,” Oliver says as he grabs my hand. “Uh—unless you actually don’t want to meet them today.”
I shrug. “It’s gotta happen sometime. Might as well be today.”
With a proud grin, Oliver pulls me after Elliot and Rhett. We get to the front room just as Rhett is pulling the door open.
“Good evening, Rhett.” A woman wearing a fitted forest green dress steps over the threshold. She’s followed closely by a man who’s wearing an expensive-looking suit.
Rhett nods, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “Kathleen. Joe.”
“Mom. Dad.” The way Elliot speaks is different than normal. It’s more polished, almost formal. His posture is different, too. He’s standing so straight you’d think he’s a kid getting his height measured, and all he cares about is getting that extra inch.
Joe grins and opens his arms, but Kathleen steps in front of him and grabs Elliot’s hands. He tenses but doesn’t pull away.
“Apologies for dropping by later than we normally do,” Kathleen says. “We had quite a busy day. But of course we had to tell you hap—” She stops abruptly when she sees me. Her expression sours before she plasters on an obviously fake smile. “Elliot, who’s this?”
“This is Wren.” Stepping back from his mother, Elliot tugs me into him and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “She’s our partner.”
