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)
But if my spy is correct, none of that matters.
It will break what’s left of my heart, but I’ll have to send her to her parents.
CHAPTER 27
ELARA
As Rhett drives through the forest, I smooth my hands over my stomach, trying to quell some of the nausea. I did what I had to do, said what I had to say, but it still feels wrong.
“I feel like a traitor,” I admit quietly.
“Your parents would understand,” Rhett says. “If they knew why you did what you did, said what you said, they’d forgive you.”
“Thanks. But I wasn’t thinking it was them I’d betrayed.”
Rhett looks at me, his eyes the same dark intensity that they were when I was playing along with Lucian in the restaurant. It was as if Rhett was on the verge of exploding the entire time.
“You didn’t betray me,” he says firmly. “Because you didn’t mean it. And anyway…”
“This is all fake?” I ask. “That’s what you were going to say, right?”
He nods.
“Does it feel fake to you?”
“Hell no,” he growls. “But maybe it’d be easier if it were.”
I grip his forearm, feeling his muscles straining through his suit jacket. “We’re long past that, Rhett. I know it hasn’t been a long time—”
“It feels like it has,” he cuts in, making my heart pick up speed. “When I’m with you, Sunshine, time moves differently. It feels like we’ve been together longer than we actually have.”
“I get that,” I agree.
“I interrupted,” he says. “What were you going to say?”
“Hey, if interrupting means you say stuff that fills my belly with butterflies, go nuts.”
“You’re magic, Elle.”
My cheeks heat up even as I let out a sarcastic laugh. “Magic, huh?”
“The way you can smile and be happy even after something so traumatic. It couldn’t have been easy seeing him.”
“It wasn’t. But you’re here, and that makes a difference.”
He smiles at me. “You’re so beautiful. Inside and out.”
“So are you.”
He laughs dryly.
“I mean it,” I say.
“A beautiful killer.”
“You’re a good man who does things some people would call bad,” I tell him. “That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. And you are beautiful.”
We share a moment of heavy eye contact, then my cellphone rings. I answer it quickly when I see Mira’s name, my mind lighting up with all kinds of ugly possibilities.
Mira isn’t talking right now, so if someone is calling from her phone…
I don’t even want to go into detail, but the ugliness is endless.
When I hear Mira’s voice, I let out something like a sob. “Sissy?”
“Mira, you’re talking!”
“Yeah,” she says quietly. “Marshall and I, we played this game, like this memory game where you have to say a bunch of stuff you get at the grocery store. I was writing mine down, but then my hand started to ache, so I just said pears, and then when I said that, it felt easier to say the next bit and the next bit. It’s really hard, Sissy, but I like it here. These are super nice people.”
I smile so hard my cheeks actually ache. “I’m so happy to hear that.”
“I was calling because it’s so fun and we’re getting pizza, and I was wondering if I could stay over.”
“Stay over?” I ask.
“Yeah. We’re going to have a movie night, and Lucy said she’s making pancakes for breakfast, and it’s just… it’s like a family, Sissy.”
My heart cracks when I hear the hope in her voice. “What about clothes?” I ask.
“There’s a big store, a superstore, Marshall called it, and he said we can go and get some.”
“And you’re happy?” I ask.
“Yeah-huh.”
“Give me a second, sweetie.” I mute the mic, then turn to Rhett. “She wants to stay at Marshall’s until tomorrow.”
“Might be worth seeing if Marshall will take her for a couple of days,” Rhett muses. “It will make tomorrow easier if we know she’s safe and sound. Plus, we don’t have to risk returning and having Lucian follow us.”
“And you trust him?” I say. “Nothing bad will happen to her?”
“I swear, Elle. Right now, Marshall’s house is the safest place she could be.”
I let out a breath, then unmute the mic. “You can stay.”
“Yay!” Mira yells. “She said I could stay.”
In the background, I hear the boys yelling happily.
“Call me if you need anything,” I tell her. “Anything, Mira. And please put Marshall on the phone.”
A moment later, Marshall says, “Hello?”
“Have you got a spare room for Mira?” I ask.
“Yep. She’s going to have the guest room.”
“I can’t believe you got her to talk,” I say. “For a year, she’s been almost non-verbal. Then Rhett and now you…”
“She’s a good kid,” Marshall says. “When she started speaking again, it was so funny, so cute. She raised her eyebrows like she was shocked by the words coming out of her mouth. We’re happy to do this.”
“And you can…” I lick my lips. “Keep her safe?”