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The house is as impressive inside as out, and Willow leads us past door after door until she opens one to a spacious guest room. “There’s a bathroom through there with everything you might want. I’m going to get you some clothes and shoes and bring you something to eat. Is that okay?” She looks to both of us, keeping her eyes on ours rather than the cuts and bruises over our bare legs.
“Is there a first aid kit?” I ask, wanting to make sure Miri’s foot isn’t infected.
“I’ll bring you one.”
She closes the door behind us, and I sag into the upholstered chair by the door.
“She seems nice,” Miri chirps.
“She does," I agree, looking around the room.
We take our time in the bathroom, and I make sure we wash our feet and dry them. We might have had time to rest at the lodge in Wales, but this is the first time I’ve seen Miri relax.
“Do you know what we’re doing here?” she asks.
“Jackson needs to speak to someone. But we’re safe. And we’re together.”
“And what’s the future for me?”
I look at her, and I can feel the panic rise. “I don’t know right now, but Jackson is working on that.”
“Do you think I could stay here?”
Her question punches me in the gut. “You’d want to leave me?”
She turns to me, and I see her pain and anguish as tears tip over her cheeks. “No. But it feels nice here. Safe. And right now, that’s all I want.”
“I know, Miri. That’s what I want, as well.” I hug her tightly as a new fear builds in my mind.
When we come out of the bathroom, an assortment of clothes and a medical bag is on the bed next to a tray of sandwiches. Finally, something to cover our skin. We both grab the jeans, underwear, and tops and dress properly for the first time in days. A sense of normality cracks through all the crazy.
“Let me look after your foot.”
“Only if you let me do yours.” Her stern voice takes me back, but I guess she’s been cheated out of the remainder of her childhood thanks to what we’ve been through.
We tend our marks and eat the food greedily.
“Hello?” Willow calls before she opens the door and walks in. “They fit. Great. I hope you feel a little better now. If you want or need anything, just let me know. We should probably go downstairs and stop the boys getting too het up.”
“Thank you,” Miri says, smiling.
“You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do, you poor thing.” Willow puts an arm around Miri in comfort, and Miri lets her.
“How do you know Jackson?” I ask.
“He used to be my boss. Well, one of them. Until I met Landon.” Her answer isn’t one I expected. “It’s a long story. Come on.”
She leads us downstairs, and I follow with a million questions circling in my mind. How did someone like Willow work for Jackson, then end up here?
Willow pauses outside a set of double doors, ornate and beautiful, but the raised voices from the other side hold our attention. Miri’s face drops when she hears them, and my heart aches for her. There’s no magic wand or solution I can offer right now, no matter how hard I wish.
“I don’t care, Reed. I don’t owe you anything. It's only Willow that got you in the door.”
“Well, we both know which one of you has a heart.”
“Show some fucking respect, or you’ll be taking your chances without my help.”
Willow pushes the doors and waltzes in, and I follow with Miri but stop as I take in what I see. They’re both standing, both fronting up to one another, hostility rolling from them.
