Chapter Seventeen
Aiden relaxed back against the counter, drinking his coffee as he waited for Malik.
“She’s in the shower,” Malik said.
Aiden nodded. “Okay, so Warner said he could be here later today. I know he said he wanted to surprise her, but I think we have to tell Camila.”
“I’m not sure we did the right thing,” Malik said as he poured coffee. “I think we should have discussed it first. What if he’s a monster and what she’s running from?”
“I thought about that. Sheriff Raymond met the man. He said he was beside himself worrying about his stepdaughter.”
Malik took a drink. “I think we should discuss it with her instead of surprising her.”
“Surprise me with what?” she asked as she came through the door. She immediately went to Aiden and hugged him tightly.
The men glanced at each other.
She looked back and forth. Aiden could tell their silence was upsetting her.
“We have a surprise for you.”
“Okay.”
“We heard on the radio and then talked to the sheriff about your family. They are anxious to see you and make sure you're all right.”
Aiden watched the color drain from her face as she jerked away from him. She turned and took a few steps away and then whirled around to face them again. He cringed at the look on her face and knew they had made a horrible mistake.
“You talked to Edward?”
“Yes. He seemed very concerned,” Malik said.
Aiden's stomach twisted when she laughed, but it was almost a desperate sound. There was nothing joyful about it.
“What was said?” she asked.
“He’s driving up this afternoon. He’s anxious to see you.”
“I just bet he is.”
She held her arms out when Malik took a few steps toward her. “No, just don’t touch me.”
“Easy, baby. We thought we were doing a good thing,” Malik told her.
She pressed her lips together. “If you wanted me to leave, why didn’t you just tell me?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Aiden asked. Where was she getting that shit? They never wanted her to leave. They just wanted her family to be able to see for themselves that she was all right.
She shook her head and hugged her arms tightly around herself. “Nothing. I want to lie down.”
Aiden grabbed a hold of her arm as she tried to pass. “Wait a second, baby. What’s going through your head?”
She tried to jerk away, then stood still when he wouldn’t release her.
“Nothing. I’m just really tired.”
Aiden saw the panic in her eyes. “You just woke up. I think we need to talk.”
She laughed. “We should have talked before you ... I just wish you had given me a choice. Please let me go.”
“Tell us what’s going on. We’ve asked you, but you’ve always shut down,” Malik said.
She looked down and shook her head. “It’s too late.”
“The hell it is,” Aiden growled and pulled her against him. “Is he a threat to you? Is he what you were running from?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she burst out.
He gritted his teeth and grabbed onto her upper arms. “It goddamn does matter, baby.”
“Can we talk later? Please. I want to lie down.”
Aiden studied her expression and saw nothing. She’d built the wall up that she’d had the first few weeks they had been together, and it pissed him off.
“Let her go, Aiden. We’ll talk more about this when she’s rested.”
Aiden released her, and she rushed out of the room.
“Why do I feel like we just lost the best thing that ever happened to us?” Aiden asked.
Malik shook his head. “I feel it, too. We’ll check on her in a bit. Let her calm down, and then we’ll get the truth out of her.”
****
When they first told her about Edward coming, she thought she was asleep and having a nightmare until the pain of betrayal and the overwhelming fear rushed through her.
She immediately shut down, not wanting them to see anything, and it was one of the hardest things she’d ever done.
She thought she had finally found the family she’d always dreamed of, but like every other person in her life, they had hurt her to the core, and she felt the frigid, cold, emotionless wave slip back into her soul.
She frantically rushed to the bedroom, found a bag, and put a few clothes in. She pulled on her shoes and found a few of the guys’ thick flannel shirts, since she wouldn’t have a chance to grab her coat.
Camila pushed up the window and looked out.
The land slanted down right outside their bedroom window.
It was too far to drop without rolling and either killing herself or breaking a bone.
Her only chance would be to sneak into the office and go out that window.
It was far enough from the kitchen so they wouldn’t hear her.
She snuck out of the bedroom and listened to them talking in the kitchen.
They were talking about making a mistake, and she almost laughed.
An error could be fixed very easily. What they did to her had the power to ruin the rest of her life, and it’s something she’d never forgive them for.
She almost laughed out loud. It didn’t matter because she was never going to see them again.
One of the boards creaked, and it sounded like it echoed, but the men didn’t stop talking, so she knew they hadn’t heard.
She rushed to the back office and closed the door before racing to the window.
A cry caught in her throat when the window wouldn’t budge.
“Come on, please.” It started to inch up bit by bit until it was open enough for her to slide through.
She threw the bag down, turned, and went out feet first, scraping her cheek on the edge of the window and cutting her hand on a sharp piece of the siding.
She didn’t take the time to look. She didn’t know how much time she had, but she guessed Edward would show up early to catch her off guard.
Her lungs started hurting as she raced through the forest, dodging what she could and falling several times. She knew she was panicking, but she knew she wouldn’t feel safe until she was far away.
The outline of the cave Aiden had shown her came into view, and she rushed toward it. She would take a break to calm down because she could feel the hysteria building again.
The worst thing she could do at that moment was let her anxiety and fear take over because she wouldn’t be able to think straight if she did, and now more than ever, she needed her wits to survive.