Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
"How in the world would he ever believe Eli was his?" he argues.
"Because I had to consummate our fucking marriage!" I scream, hating that he stayed in the shadows while I suffered under Damien all these years. "He wanted children very early. He wanted to cement his place in the family in case Dad ever tried to take away what he was promised. He never missed a fucking night trying to make sure I was pregnant as quickly as possible."
"Jesus fuck," Samuel whispers, but his reaction to what I've had to endure doesn't deserve recognition.
I watch Luke's face turn from rage to disgust as he begins to fully understand what I've told him.
"You may never be able to forgive me for what I didn't do that day, but our son is innocent. You need to let me go so I can ensure that he's safe."
He scoffs as if my words mean nothing. "We'll make sure you and the boy have a new identity, and you can live out the rest of your days without having to worry about Damien Gaines."
I shake my head. He can't guarantee anything. He doesn't have any clue just how willing Damien is to hurt everyone around him until he gets the information he wants. He'll leave a trail of bodies behind him in his quest to find us, and I can't have that on my conscience.
"Jericho?"
I snap my eyes at the other man, the one who patted me down outside to check me for weapons. He's been mostly silent since we came inside. I don't have to be an expert on watching people to know that Luke, or should I say Jericho, is the one calling the shots right now.
The man I once knew looks at the other guy, and my heart kicks up several notches when he takes the phone from him. I didn't hear the thing ring, but it's very possible I was either yelling too loudly or it was on silent.
Jericho keeps his eyes on me as he listens to whoever is on the other line, and I see the change in him within seconds.
Whatever he's hearing is bad news, and despite the years between us, I know him enough to know when he's trying to hide something from me.
"What?" I snap, feeling a little hysterical when he keeps his eyes locked on me but doesn't answer my question.
"Let me know what you find out," he growls before shoving the phone back in the other man's direction.
"What happened?" I yell again, but he turns his back to me.
I'm out of the chair in the next breath and across the room until I'm pulling at his shirt. I'll be damned if something happened to my son and he isn't telling me about it.
Instead of facing me and telling me the truth, he grabs me by the wrists and drags me across the room, shoving open the door on the far wall and pushing me inside.
"Is it our kids?" I hear Samuel scream. "What fucking happened to our kids?"
He closes us into the room together, fully ignoring Samuel's screams.
"Wh-what happened? Is Eli—"
"He wasn't where we thought he was," he tells me in a calming tone, but I can hear an edge of fire in his voice as he speaks. "We'll find him, Peach. I promise."
I pound on his chest. He's the whole reason we're in danger. But if he had never existed, I wouldn't have Eli, so I can't exactly wish I had never met him because our son is the greatest gift I've ever been given. Although, I don't deserve to be his mother for the danger he was born into. There's no going back. I can't change those decisions now, and living with regret gets me nowhere.
He pulls me to his chest, and although I try to resist him, needing more answers, needing to know what the plan is to get Eli to safety, I melt into him, attempting to let his warmth comfort me. But even this hug feels like a lie.
He isn't touching me because he cares. He's comforting a crazed woman in order to get her to calm down because unhinged people are dangerous to everyone involved.
I push back against him because, more than anything, I want to tell him how much I've missed him, how much I wished things were different.
I can't let myself get lost in him. That's what set all this shit into motion in the first place. I let myself get lost in the escape his green eyes and warm arms provided. I put myself in danger. I put him in danger and, in turn, now Eli is in danger. This man and I may deserve everything we have coming, but Eli is a hundred percent innocent in all of this.
He stares down at me, and for the briefest of moments, less time than it takes to fully inflate my lungs, we just exist. For a fraction of time, I can forget all the pain I've felt over the last several years. I can shove away the guilt that always coated me when thinking about him dying for loving me.