by Amber Lynn
“Then we’ll figure something out that you find acceptable. I don’t want you trying to pay me back for things you need. I’ve got plenty of space and money.”
She’d seen enough of the house that she knew both of those things. So, she nodded her head. Nothing had been solved, but after a week of living in the house and seeing smiles on Connor’s face, she knew she had to try to stretch things out a little. Soon enough they’d have to run again. For hopefully another week, she could try to pretend they were normal.
Chapter 14
Brayden knew Laura wasn’t purposefully trying to drive him insane. At least he didn’t get that vibe from her. That didn’t change the fact that he had no clue which way was up.
Spending a week away only made things worse. There were so many questions he wanted to ask. So many things he wanted to know about her, and their past. She switched from being scared of her shadow to standing toe-to-toe with him. It seemed the latter only came when he tried to help her, and she didn’t think she deserved it.
He’d said the night before that they’d figure out something she could do that “paid” for her stay with him, and so far no realistic solutions were mentioned. She talked about cleaning and cooking, shoot even gardening. It was the dead of winter, and while snow didn’t cover the ground, the grass fell dormant weeks ago. Even if it wasn’t, he hired some local guys to cut it. He didn’t have a lawnmower and asking her to mow the acres of lawn wasn’t happening.
She’d huffed a few times and tried to come up with other ideas. He had too, but his eyes kept drifting to her and all logical thought flew from his head. He’d see her lips moving, know she said something he should be listening to, but his mind focused solely on those lips.
They were thin, light pink, and he wanted more than anything to feel them on him. His lips would be fine, but his mind liked to torture him and think about what they’d feel like on and around other parts of him.
He deserved to burn in hell for his thoughts. And it almost felt like he was as those thoughts kept him up all night. Tossing and turning, trying to clear his mind and convince his dick it needed a new hobby, he found it impossible to sleep.
Maybe having her stay with him wasn’t his brightest idea. But the only other option was to see if Suzy or Rachel would give them a room. He knew either of them would, but they’d be in the same situation. Well, not his never-ending erection situation. They’d need to find a way for her to feel like she wasn’t free-loading.
He understood a little more why Rachel had set them up in the apartment. His opinion about it being the wrong place for them hadn’t changed, but he could understand. For being a person who needed all the help she could get, Laura didn’t want to accept any.
“What about my body?”
The words were soft, like almost everything about her. For a brief moment, Brayden thought he’d imagined them. Then he had to backtrack all his thoughts and figure out if he’d been muttering about her body and how in the world he’d explain his lust-filled thoughts.
He turned away from the stove, where he’d been hovering over a tea kettle. First thing in the morning, instant coffee was the only thing that would get him going. He’d tried setting timers on coffee makers and using the single cup variety. They weren’t bad, but something about the instant stuff just perked him up.
“I’m sorry. Was I talking to myself?”
Brayden had no idea. As flaky as his head had been, he didn’t doubt for a second it was possible.
She shook her head. “No. Last night we seemed to run out of things I can do for you. So, I wondered if my body was an option. I know it’s not much, but I’ve heard it’s something a woman can sell when she needs money.”
No. His immediate reaction to her words were to stop at that one word and pretend she didn’t just say the rest of it. There was something off about the wording, but he couldn’t bother putting a finger on it, because he needed to make it clear her idea wasn’t happening. Not the way she’d spelled it out.
“Laura,” he said, keeping his voice low. “I’m trying to keep you safe from whatever asshole you guys are running from. I’m not about to take ‘payment’ for that with sex.”
That was one sure way to at least put a halt to his fantasies. It wasn’t quite an ice bath poured on his head, because her offering made him immediately think about the fact it had been on her mind. He hoped that meant he wasn’t the only one who felt the electricity between them. If she didn’t and had just offered to sleep with him with no desire on her side, he was going to go stick his head in the ice bath he’d just thought about.
“Okay, so you didn’t bring me here for that.”
As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t look away from her. And if he hadn’t, he’d have missed the split second that disappointment crossed her face. Her voice only echoed relief, but her eyes said something different.
It changed nothing. He was only trying to help her out, because that was what he did. She was off-limits, and there was absolutely no doubt in his mind he was going to burn in hell. But at least he didn’t act on the fact that his gut now told him she wanted him too. Maybe not to the levels where she stayed up all night thinking about how things would be between them, but she felt the spark. Or at the very least felt something.
“I told you when I mentioned the job, it wasn’t for sex. I’m not going back on that.”
He remembered the weird look that crossed her face when he mentioned the job. The sheer shock of him coming out and saying he’d give her something to do. He knew he’d never meant it that way, but he could only imagine how someone in her place would see it, and the look on her face had spelled it out. Horror.
Technically, he still didn’t know what her place was, but she had a kid and was on the run. At some point, sex had to be involved, and he only prayed it hadn’t been in a scenario like she was suggesting. It made him hate whatever asshole hurt her even more, which was starting to become impossible. If he ever found the guy, Brayden would gladly go to jail for killing the bastard.
“Is it really that hard to just let someone be there for you? If you won’t take it from me, what about family? Other than Peter’s dad, you have some, right?”
He didn’t want her to run off and find someone else. He wanted to be the one to get her through whatever it was going on in her life. It made no sense. Brayden had no problem admitting that to himself.
The look that crossed her face at the mention of family told him all he needed to know. Thinking about your family shouldn’t cause the eye-widening fear he saw in front of him. It took everything inside of him to not cross the kitchen to the doorway she stood in and wrap her in his arms. He didn’t need to know all the details to know that Laura had never had it easy.
“I think it’s pretty clear that I wouldn’t be here if I did. I can’t turn to them.”
Not that she didn’t have anyone. She just couldn’t turn to them. That added the question of whether that was because she couldn’t trust them or if they were in danger too to the list.
“Then for the time being, pretend I’m them. Would you feel the need to do stuff for your mom if she let you stay in your old room?”
One of the things he found so attractive about Laura was her expressive face. And the confusion that spread over it at what he thought was a simple question surprised him. It seemed like just a yes or no question. Actually, it should have just been a quick no.
“I don’t know,” she said, voicing the confusion he already saw. “It’s been a long time since I’ve spoken to my parents.”
“Because of him?”
She nodded, not needing to ask who he meant. He knew abusers sometimes separated their victims from everyone else, which explained a lot. At least to him.
There hadn’t been someone in her life to trust. She wasn’t specific on how long that had been the case, but since Peter was four, he figured years had gone by without someone having her back.
“How far behind you is he, Laura? I know you said
he isn’t in your lives, but I get the feeling he hasn’t come to terms with that.”
Laura’s expression turned dark as she considered her answer. That’s at least what Brayden figured she did as she sighed and tilted her head a few times. She finally opened her mouth to say something when a scream erupted from behind her.
Chapter 15
Just when Willow thought her heart had finally corralled itself, the sound of Connor screaming threw her whole body in motion. Surprisingly, Brayden was even faster, gliding past her as he ran into the living room. The distance was only thirty feet at most, but it felt like a mile.
When she saw Connor standing alone with his arm pointing towards the massive television, she allowed a small sigh of relief to escape. Brayden scooped the boy up and held him close as he rubbed the back of his head. Willow took that all in before she turned and looked at the television. Her knees instantly felt like nothing more than gelatin.
On the screen, there was a picture of her as a child next to a blurry more recent picture of her. It looked like she was walking into a store with Connor by her side. How anyone could compare the two pictures and think they were the same person was beyond her, but it seemed clear someone had.
“Authorities say that Willow Bethany Jamison was last seen fifteen years ago leaving school in Henderson, Nevada. The case was considered cold until a retired police officer on the case saw a woman he thought looked familiar in Charleston, West Virginia.”
The screen flashed to a man, who had to be in his sixties, maybe even seventies. His gray hair was just wisps on top of his head.
“I remember that case like it was yesterday. Pauline Jamison was devasted when we told her there was no sign of her daughter. She called every week, hoping we found some information. Everyone in the precinct had a picture of Willow, with those bright purple eyes of hers on their desk. We all got used to looking for them, and I couldn’t believe I finally found someone with the same color eyes. My skills have diminished a little since I left the force, so it took me a second to remember. By the time I did, her and the kid were gone. But I have no doubt it was her.”
The screen switched back to the blurry picture, but this time there was a picture next to it that looked sort of like Willow. The nose was wrong, too pointy and long to be hers, and the lips were fuller. She could see why people would think it was her, though.
She glanced over to Brayden, hoping he didn’t understand. Judging by the way his eyes were glued to the television, she had no doubt he knew. Her mouth opened to say something. She had no idea what to say, but she had to say something.
That was until she heard a voice she never thought she’d hear again. Her knees really did give out when her mother’s voice came through the speakers.
“We never gave up hope that she was still out there somewhere. Her twenty-fifth birthday is in three weeks, and we’re hoping she’ll finally be home to celebrate with us.”
Willow started gasping for air as she saw her mother, father and sister for the first time in over a decade. Her parents looked exactly the same. Her sister wasn’t seven anymore, but she could tell it was her.
It was too much. They were all there, still waiting for her to come home. Her lungs forgot how to function and the air in the room disappeared.
“Wh..”
She didn’t know if the sound came out or what she was going to say. She couldn’t think.
“Shh.” She heard and then Brayden’s face appeared in front of her. His lips kept moving, but she didn’t hear anything coming out of them.
“Connor,” she said.
He wasn’t in Brayden’s arms anymore. She needed the boy next to her, in her arms. If this was going out over national news, they had to leave.
Brayden looked confused for a second. Her brain was quickly coming back online. She couldn’t let the emotions get to her. They never had in the past, so she had no idea why they were now. Connor’s safety was the important thing. It didn’t matter that her family thought she was alive and wanted to see her. Keeping Connor away from his parents was all that mattered.
As it was, the more she thought about it, the more those people standing there didn’t seem right. The emotion was all wrong for members of her family. Simply because there was emotion there at all. It had to be a trick of the camera or they were actively trying to fool the camera. Willow didn’t think she’d changed that much over the last fifteen years, at least not deep down, so she couldn’t see her parents changing either.
“So, his name isn’t Peter.”
Willow registered his words and shook her head. She knew he’d said more when her brain couldn’t function, but she pushed his questioning look aside and scanned the room for Connor. The boy looked as terrified as she felt. Tears welled up in his eyes.
“He won’t find us. We’ll keep running. I’ve got enough money now that I’ll change my eyes, so they won’t recognize me.”
She didn’t know how much he understood, but he’d known the news on the television was bad enough that he’d screamed. He, like apparently everyone else she’d ever meant, could recognize her eyes.
Connor ran over to her, throwing his arms around her neck. She’d sunk down to her knees on the floor, so their heights were almost the same.
“Don’t cry. I promised I would always keep you safe from them. You know I’ve never broken a promise to you.”
This new development made that task monumentally harder. Instead of being anywhere, with chances higher for the western states, everyone knew a general radius of where they’d been. While her kidnapper kept his life private, he had millions of dollars at his disposal. He probably had private detectives everywhere. He’d have to tread lightly, but with enough money, she was sure he could do anything.
Willow started thinking about whether they should go north or south. Going back west seemed out of the question, since there was a chance of crossing paths. North went away from everywhere they’d been, but they were running out of real estate in that direction.
“We need to call the police.”
“No,” she practically screamed.
Staring at Brayden, she tried to make sure he understood there was no room for different opinions on that matter. She hadn’t forgot he was around, but at that point it was a technicality. Connor and she just had to get their stuff together and they’d be out of his life.
“But your parents. They’re looking for you. And the police can help put whoever took you behind bars. If they get to him before I do.”
“What do you mean if they get to him before you do?”
Willow had followed along with his words fine until then. She understood why he thought those were all good things. He didn’t know what was at stake. Just like she didn’t know why he’d even think about being near Connor’s dad.
His eyes hardened. The look scared her for a second, but his hand reached over and wiped her cheek. The touch made her feel the wetness there. She hadn’t even known she’d been crying.
“Because of these. I wanted to kill that bastard when I thought he was just an abusive ex. Knowing that he took you as a kid…” His words trailed off as he shook his head.
“You don’t even know me.”
Until five minutes ago, he hadn’t even known her real name. All he knew was that she showed up in town with a kid, running from something. He had no clue what she’d been through and what would happen if the police got involved.
“I know you’re planning on running. And if you’re not going to accept my help, I’m going to make sure someone has your back.”
In other words, the second she left, the police were his first call. If they weren’t already on their way. Chances were half the televisions in town had been on the news. She liked to think only a few people saw her, but after that waitressing shift, too many people knew she was here.
With Connor still clutched close to her, Willow stood and carried him over to the couch. Brayden moved with her, trying to take Connor. She shook her head and relayed wit
h her eyes that he would get the boy from her over her dead body. He seemed to get the message and took a step back.
“Connor, honey. I need to go back in the kitchen to talk to Brayden,” she said as she sat him down.
The notion sent Connor’s head into a frantic shake. It had been days since he’d had a nightmare, but the events of the day were sure to make neither one of them get any sleep anytime soon.
“It’s okay. We’re still safe here. You did a good job letting me know about the TV. Why don’t you watch some cartoons for a few minutes? I promise I’ll be right back.”
She had to convince Brayden he couldn’t go to the police. There was only one way she could think of that would earn his agreement. Something she thought she’d never tell another soul.
The truth.
Chapter 16
Brayden gave Connor a smile as he followed his mom out of the room. Willow and Connor. They weren’t Laura and Peter. They were Willow and Connor, and Willow had been missing for over fifteen years.
He couldn’t think of all the hours she endured at the mercy of that monster without curling his fingers tightly into a fist. He’d never wanted to hit something more, which was saying something. His ex-brother-in-law had given him plenty of reasons to lose his temper over the years. Idiot opponents ran their mouths, saying anything to get him off his game. There’d been plenty of times his mother had been mentioned in ways that curdled his blood.
But nothing amounted to the red that covered all his thoughts when he thought about what had happened to Laura… or Willow. That was going to take some getting used to.
“Nothing you can say will change my mind on this, Willow. You need help.”
She sighed and walked to the center island. He was happy to see her scoot out a chair and sit. The news had taken most of his attention, but he saw her collapse when her mother appeared on the screen. It wasn’t until then that the tears started falling.