Chapter 64
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
HANNAH
All I can do is sit on the edge of the bed and watch as Asher and Rowan pack up my belongings.
It’s only been a little over a week since I moved in, barely long enough to stop waking up in the middle of the night wondering where I am, but we’re already leaving.
The first place that’s ever truly felt like home, and we’re fleeing it.
I’m still not convinced this is the right choice, but I don’t have the energy to argue either.
I promised I would trust them to keep me safe, and if that means leaving the city for a while, I have to believe that’s the only choice we have.
My phone sits on the mattress beside me, taunting me with every notification that flashes across the screen.
I haven’t been able to bring myself to look at a single one. It’s not in my nature to bury my head in the sand, but right now the world is closing in around me, and it won’t take much to send me spiraling.
Clutching my still churning stomach, I turn my attention back to Rowan as he carefully folds a pile of clothes into the third suitcase they’ve packed.
Normally, I would have told them it was unnecessary, that I don’t need to take so much, but I don’t have the energy.
I don’t have the fight.
It’s all gone. Everything is gone.
The career I worked so hard for, the life I built for myself in spite of my family, the future I thought I was creating for myself.
With one call from my grandfather, it all came crumbling down.
Asher crouches in front of me, his dark eyes swimming with concern. “I’m going to move the things from your apartment into the panic room just in case the house is attacked while we’re gone, but is there anything you need from those boxes?”
“Attacked?” I whisper. Razor blades dig into my throat with every word I’ve spoken since he helped me brush my teeth, which is why I’ve stayed mostly silent, but I need to understand the situation we’re in. The danger we’re in.
He nods slowly. “It’s unlikely but never impossible, and I don’t want you to lose anything that’s sentimental to you.”
A fresh wave of tears fills my eyes, a mix of gratitude and terror swirling low in my belly. They haven’t said as much, but it’s seeming more and more like we’re running for our lives, and yet Asher has taken the time to think about the items that might be important to me.
He leans forward, pressing his forehead to mine and offering his quiet support. “I know this is overwhelming, Han. I know you’re scared, but I promise everything is going to be okay. We’ll make sure of it.”
I nod as a choked sob tears up the back of my throat.
All I ever wanted was to have a life away from my family.
I rejected the trust fund. I didn’t let them pay for college. I haven’t taken a single cent from them since I turned eighteen.
I’ve worked so hard to step out from their shadows, only to have it all blown up before my eyes.
Asher’s palm envelops my cheek, brushing the tears away as they fall. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so fucking sorry.” His voice sounds just as broken as my heart, but I try to focus on the fact that I still have them. Even if I lose everything else, I have two men who love me, who will always protect me.
And I tell myself that’s enough, even as my chest cracks open at everything I’m losing.
The ride to the airfield is quiet.
I thought we’d be going to JFK, but instead the GPS is leading us toward a private airport in the opposite direction.
I guess it makes sense, not taking me through a major hub while our faces are blowing up everyone’s phone with news of our relationship.
The media has always felt predatory to me, especially gossip pages, but now that I know what it’s like to wake up with my life imploding, I have a newfound hatred for them.
Rowan checks the rearview mirror, meeting my eye for a split second before settling back on the road. He’s done the same thing every minute or so since we left the house.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I bury my face in the oversized sweatshirt I pulled on as we left the house. It’s one of Asher’s, and the traces of his scent that cling to the fabric give me a semblance of peace.
It’s going to be okay.
They’re going to take care of everything.
They’re going to keep me safe.
I’ve repeated the same words to myself over and over, hoping that at some point I’ll start believing them.
I try to convince myself this is going to be an adventure. Our first trip together. But these plans weren’t made with excitement or adventure in mind.
They were made out of necessity because the city is no longer safe for me.
Granddad has proven time and time again that there are no lines he won’t cross to get what he wants, and while I would like to believe he wouldn’t physically harm me, I’m no longer sure that’s the case.
The blinker clicks on as Rowan guides the car through a fence and directly onto the tarmac toward a private plane.
I’m too busy staring at the aircraft with disbelief to notice what lies ahead until the car comes to an abrupt halt, the seat belt tugging me back against the seat.
“Fuck,” Rowan mutters, his fists tightening around the steering wheel.
“How do you want to play this?” Asher asks, his voice calm despite the line of police cars separating us from the plane.
Officers stand behind open doors, their guns drawn and pointed toward us.
Are they here for us?
Silence fills the car, and I turn my attention to Rowan as well. He always knows what to do. He always has the answers.
Except right now, he doesn’t wear the impenetrable armor I’ve come to expect from him.
“Get out of the car with your hands raised,” a voice comes over a megaphone, causing my stomach to roll.
“Are they going to arrest us?” My voice shakes.
“I don’t know,” Rowan replies honestly.
Part of me wishes he would lie to me, that he would offer some false hope for the situation we’ve found ourselves in.
The same man speaks into the megaphone again, delivering the same message again and sending my anxiety spiraling.
Asher turns in his seat, his brows dipping with concern when he notices the tears falling against my cheeks. “I want you to get out of the car, but stay behind me, okay?”
“What…why?”
He hesitates for a beat before replying. “Just in case.”
Words fail me as I process what he’s just said. Does he think they’re going to shoot at us? Is he seriously asking me to use him as a human shield?
I press my eyes closed, another ragged sob dragging up my throat. “I love you guys,” I choke. “I love you so much. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for showing me what it feels like to be loved.” The words tumble out as I try to say everything I feel in the few seconds we have left together.
Because the reality is, I have no idea when, or if, I’m ever going to see them again, and all I can think about is how much time I wasted.
We had such a short amount of time together, and I spent half of it questioning them. I spent our final night together crying myself to sleep instead of falling asleep in their arms.
Time is so finite. It’s not guaranteed. It’s borrowed. And our time is up.