10. Brody
brODY
I knew something was wrong the minute I woke up.
Could feel it, somehow. The bed next to me was cold, and I pulled on some clothes, hurrying into the living room.
I checked every inch of my cabin, but Emma was gone.
That’s when I decided to check the outbuilding.
As soon as I stepped outside, I heard voices.
My heart was racing, the thoughts of everything Emma told me last night still raw and fresh.
And as I approached the outbuilding, my fears were confirmed.
“If you won’t come back of your own accord, then we’ll have to bring you by force.”
That’s what the fucker said. It was then I knew it was her father—that he’d found her somehow. Now I’m facing him, staring him down, a barrier between him and my girl.
“Who are you?” her father snaps.
“I’m the man who will do anything to protect Emma.”
He’s a coward. I can see it immediately, the apprehension in his face as he sizes me up.
No doubt he’s used to controlling people he sees as weaker or more vulnerable than himself.
He’d have no qualms laying his hands on his daughter, forcing her to go with him, but he won’t step up and fight a mountain man.
Fucking coward.
“This is none of your concern,” he says. “This is between me and a fellow member of my community.” He tries to sound firm, but his body betrays him with an instinctive step backward.
“Community?” I snarl. “It’s a cult, and Emma got out. You tried to trap her there, control her, but she fucking won. Now she’s free, and she’s going to stay that way.”
There’s a pause as the man looks at me, weighing his options.
“I didn’t come alone,” he says coldly. “One of my men is waiting in his truck outside. If you try to stop us from taking her?—”
I see red. He’s threatening to kidnap my girl.
Rage sears in my gut, flooding my body. In two strides, I close the gap between us, raise my fist, and slam it into his face.
My knuckles connect with his jaw. He stumbles back with a noise of surprise, and I raise my fist again.
This time, I hear a crunch as it smashes into his nose.
I pull back my arm again, but a hand grabs my wrist, and I look back over my shoulder to see Emma staring at me, breathing hard.
“Please, no more,” she says. “He’s not worth it.”
One look from those pretty brown eyes calms my rage. I drop my fist, looking back to her father. He’s sprawled on the ground, watching me fearfully, blood streaming from his broken nose.
“You’re lucky your daughter is a better person than I am,” I tell him. “If it were up to me, I’d bury you in these woods. Now get the hell off my property.”
Her father shakily gets to his feet, shooting me a look of pure loathing. Then he ambles toward the front door and into the woods. I follow, with Emma close behind. I won’t believe he’s gone until I see the asshole leave.
We watch as he walks away, heading toward a red truck hidden in the trees nearby. He says a few words to the driver, then walks back toward us. I feel my muscles tense again, ready to fight. But he doesn’t approach. He stops at Emma’s green Honda and lets himself into the driver’s seat.
“The fuck is he doing?” I mutter angrily.
“I gave him back the keys.”
I look at her, then back at the car, scowling. “You deserve the damn car after everything you went through.”
She sighs, melting against me as I wrap an arm around her shoulders. “I don’t want it. It’s a link to him…to Scourfield. He can have it.”
I give her a squeeze, and together we watch as both vehicles disappear down the dirt track leading away from my cabin. Once they’re out of sight, all my adrenaline melts away and I let out a deep breath, pulling Emma into a tight hug.
“You’re okay now, sugar,” I tell her. “They’re gone. You’re safe.”
She nods, resting her head against my chest. “Thank you, Brody.”
“Don’t thank me. Bet you were doing a great job all by yourself before I walked in.” I press a kiss on her head. “Still, I should have gotten there sooner.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault but his.” She pulls back from my arms and takes my hand, inspecting my knuckles. “Does it hurt?”
I shrug. When I first hit him, I was so furious that I barely even felt it. But now my knuckles are throbbing, smeared with blood.
“It was worth it,” I tell her. “He deserved much worse.”
She nods, deep in thought as she looks at my hand. I watch her, trying to read her expression.
“Are you okay, Emma?”
She meets my gaze and smiles sadly. “Yeah. I was just thinking that…well, it might sound strange, but after so many years of my father being our leader, I stopped seeing him as human. In Scourfield, he was more like a god. But seeing him like that, scared and bleeding…I guess it reminded me that he’s just a man…
That I don’t need to be so afraid of him. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah. It does.” I lean in and press a kiss on her forehead, twirling a lock of her red hair around my finger. “You’re right. And you’re brave as hell for realizing that.”
She presses her lips together, and I can tell there’s still something on her mind. I don’t push her. Instead, I guide her back to my cabin and shut the door behind us, pulling her onto the couch beside me.
“I need to do something about this,” she says eventually.
“What do you mean, sugar?”
“Scourfield…I need to help the people I left behind. There are children there. Sick people who need to be treated.” She closes her eyes, her voice lowering to a whisper.
“But I’m scared. I’ve tried really hard to untangle myself from Father’s beliefs, but I guess there are some things that are hard to let go of.
He always taught us the authorities were evil. ”
I feel another surge of anger thinking about her father. Of course he wants people to believe the authorities are evil—so they’re too damn scared to report him.
“Look at me, Emma.” I cup her cheek, meeting her gaze.
“I know you’re scared. But you don’t have to do this alone, okay?
If you want to go to the cops, I’ll be with you every step of the way.
We can get social services involved—get those vulnerable people safe.
Whatever you want to do, I’ll make it happen. ”
Determination buzzes through me as I look at her.
It would be easy for her to turn her back on Scourfield and move on with her life.
Hell, that’s what I’d do. But my girl is better than that.
She has a heart of gold, and if taking down Scourfield will make her happy, then that’s what we’re going to do.
“Thank you, Brody.” She beams at me, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Then she throws her arms around my neck, clinging to me like she never wants to let go. I hug her back, breathing her in, losing myself in her sweet scent.
This is where she belongs.
Here with me.
Meeting Emma is the best thing that ever happened to me, and as I pull back to look at her, the words rise up without hesitation
“I love you, Emma.”
Her lips part, her eyes sparkling. “Really? You mean it?”
“I’ve never meant anything more, sugar. I love you. So fucking much.”
She blinks at me, her breath catching for a moment. Then her face splits into a beautiful smile, which seems to fill the whole cabin with sunshine.
“I love you too, Brody. More than anything.”
My angel. My sweet Emma. She’s all mine, and I can’t wait to put a ring on her finger and make it official. This girl is my whole world, and as I lean in to kiss her soft lips, I know I’ve found my forever.