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“And I’d do it again,” Jensen murmured, planting a kiss on the side of my head.
“Seriously, Jensen.” I took his hand. “You’ve lost everyone and everything because of this. That’s huge.”
“I know. But like I said, I always suspected my parents were Rosmerta members, even though they never said anything about it,” he replied. “The second I found out what the society was up to, they were basically dead to me.”
“I know, but it’s still hard. Losing everything like that,” I said, squeezing his hand. I knew he was trying to be strong for me, but I wanted him to know that he had my support if he ever wanted or needed to talk about it.
“I’ll get through it,” he said, giving me another faint smile. “I have you. And, uh… I guess we both have Piper too.”
We turned to look at her again. She cast her eyes downward, one hand playing with a loose thread on the old couch. “I spent so long trying to defend and justify everything in my head,” she muttered. “Everything the society was doing, I mean. I thought I totally believed everything my parents told me about it, but on some level I think I always knew it was wrong. I just…” She trailed off for a moment and slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. It just seemed so much easier to go along with everything.”
“I get it,” I said softly. “You knew what might happen to you if you challenged the status quo.”
“Yeah. This.” Nose wrinkling, she lifted a hand to gesture around the living room. “Hiding out in some old farmhouse like a fugitive so I don’t get revenge-killed by a bunch of Rosmerta diehards before they get arrested.”
“We won’t be here for long,” Jensen said. “A few days, maybe. Then it’ll probably be safe for us to go back to town.”
I took a deep breath and stepped over to the window. “It’ll be nice to feel free again,” I murmured, casting my eyes over the trees and fields outside. “To go wherever I want. Do whatever I want.”
“What do you want to do?” Jensen asked, stepping up behind me. He wrapped an arm around my waist, head burrowing into the crook between my neck and shoulder.
“I guess I want to travel. Once I’m done with school, that is.”
“Travel would be nice.”
I smiled and nodded. “I grew up thinking it would never be an option because I didn’t have any money. But now, after being trapped on that farm and being told that I’d be there for the rest of my life…” I paused midsentence and took another deep breath. “I want to go everywhere. I’ll do anything to make it happen.”
“I’ll help you.” Jensen planted a kiss on my shoulder.
A distant glint caught my eye, and my smile faded. “Did the owner of this property say anything on that forum about checking in on this place sometimes?” I asked, squinting at the horizon.
“No. Why?”
“There’s a car out there, all the way up on the main road. It’s going really slowly, like it’s about to turn into the driveway.”
Jensen lifted his head and followed my gaze. “Oh, shit,” he muttered. “You’re right.”
“Maybe it’s just a careful driver,” I said, heart thumping with panic. “These country roads can be dangerous sometimes.”
“No, they’re slowing down even more now,” Jensen replied, eyes fixed on the distant road. “Fuck, they’re turning into the driveway.”
“Maybe it’s someone from another neighboring property,” I said, voice nearly catching in my throat. “They could’ve been asked to check in on the place from time to time.”
I spun around to survey the room. Our stuff was all over the place. “We need to grab all of this and hide,” I said. “Maybe we could use that shed outsi—”
I cut myself off when I noticed the look on Piper’s face. Her skin had turned ashen, and her eyes were wide with guilt.
Jensen noticed her expression too, and his own face turned thunderous. “What the hell did you do, Piper?”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, staring at the floor. “I’m so sorry.”
“What the fuck did you do?” Jensen roared, hands clenching at his sides.
“When you two went off to that other room, I stole your burner phone,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “I just wanted to say sorry to Hillary. I honestly thought she’d keep it to herself. But she must’ve told her parents, and they—”
“They told the rest of the society and got someone to track the phone’s location,” I interjected, looking out the window again. The car was halfway down the property’s lengthy driveway now. “They’ve come to get us.”
“They’re going to kill us, aren’t they?” Piper said in a tremulous tone. “For wrecking everything for them.”
