Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Just get her, please, Rhett,” Elle pleads.
“I will,” I say. “Keep watch. Carefully.”
She nods, turning in a slow circle.
Holstering my gun, I walk to the base of the tree, assessing. Some of these branches are perfect for a girl like Mira, but will snap under my weight. I jump and hook the lowest one that’s thick enough, grunting as I haul myself up. I haul myself onto the first branch, then start to properly climb.
Don’t look down, killer.
I wish that voice would go to hell.
“Mira, I’m here,” I murmur, as soon as I reach her. “What I need you to do is to simply fall backward so that I can wrap my arm around you. Can you do that?”
I position myself so my body is pressed against hers, my hand ready as I balance with my other arm hooked around a branch. She doesn’t respond, but she does as I ask, leaning against me.
I wrap my arm around her, then begin our descent as she hugs me, resting her cheek against my chest. It’s a long process, climbing down, takes more effort than going up with Mira attached to me.
At the bottom, I say, “Mira, it would be really helpful if you could climb these last few. Can you do that for me? They won’t hold my weight.”
“You can do it, angel,” Elle says, a croak in her voice.
Mira clambers from my arms, then moves in a flighty, almost squirrel-like way down the tree. At the bottom, she doesn’t rush into Elle’s arms. She just stands there, her arms at her sides, staring off into space.
I’ve seen her like this before. The night it all happened.
Elle rushes to her and clutches her to her chest, looking at me. She doesn’t have to say it. We’re both thinking the same thing. She saw something that terrified her into silence again.
“I’m taking her inside,” Elle murmurs, lifting her up and rushing toward the house.
I follow close behind, scanning, praying that Lucian shows up. Tries this man to man, sees how far he gets. He’ll get nowhere except in the ground with a bullet in his skull for this shit.
In the house, Elle sits Mira on the couch. “Let me get you some water.”
I sit carefully on the chair, keeping my gun holstered and out of her sight. We need to pack and get moving. The sensors are working, at least. They work on a different system, via my cellphone. That’s what makes me think the prick somehow got into the WiFi or her laptop specifically.
Mira stares blankly at the table.
“Can you nod or shake your head, Mira?” I ask gently. “Or are you… too far away?”
I’ve been far away before. In battle. Dissociated, but somehow the body keeps moving, keeps pulling the trigger.
She shakes her head slowly.
“Did you see somebody in the woods?” I ask.
Elle hovers nearby, glass of water in her hand. She glares at me like she’s annoyed that I’m pushing Mira, but she also looks like she wants to know too.
Mira nods slowly.
“Who?” I say.
Mira turns her head to me, then slowly lifts her hand and covers her own face with it.
“He was wearing a mask,” Elle whispers.
Mira lowers her hand and nods.
“Did he say anything?” I ask.
Mira nods, but then her eyes fill with tears, and her shoulders shake. Elle puts the water down and rushes to her, pulling her into her arms. I chew the inside of my cheek as my fingers twitch for my gun.
A few minutes pass like that, then Mira sniffles and pushes away from Elle. She nods again. When I don’t get it, she nods at me, insistently.
I think. “He… talked? The man in the mask?”
A nod.
“Okay, Mira. But I know you can’t tell me what he said. And that’s okay.”
She shakes her head stubbornly, then points at me.
“Me…” She nods and points at Elle. “And Elle…” Another nod, then she makes a big X with her arms.
Elle whispers, “Can’t be together?”
Mira nods, staring at me with tears glistening in her eyes.
“Did he threaten you? From beyond the sensors? Did he have a weapon?”
Mira nods.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “But now, we’re going to my place. You’ll be safe there.”
CHAPTER 18
ELARA
Rhett’s cabin is more like a fortress, a steel-gray structure inside large walls, all of them with cameras posted on top. There are small gardens growing between the cabin and the walls, vegetables and fruit. Mira looks down, curious and wide-eyed. She’s more like her old self, the person she was before Rhett reignited something in her.
Inside, the cabin is all sleek oak, hard surfaces, and very little sentimentality. The fireplace is a stylish black steel thing. There aren’t any throws, but the furniture looks comfortable. Mira walks like she’s dreaming toward the nearest couch and sits down.
“You’re safe here,” Rhett says. “I wish I’d brought us here straight away.”