3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Luna
Ipress my hand against the wood of the door and lean close to listen. I’m sure someone’s inside. Thank goodness I heard voices when I did. I was just about to leave my hiding spot, confident that the men had left.
A puff of air leaves my lungs when something presses against the other side of the door. I don’t know how, but I can feel the man on the other side. Slowly I pull my hand away.
When it remains quiet, I bite back tears, because I know it’s not my brother. He would have spoken by now. He would never make me suffer in fear.
As if the man on the other side reads my thoughts, he speaks.
“My name is Carson. I’m friends with your brother,” his deep voice rumbles from the other side of the door.
“Robin told us you were broke down, so my brother, Cole, and I are here to get your van going. You don’t have to hide.
You can come out after I leave. We’ll stay outside; we won’t bother you. ”
I stay silent.
“I’m sorry if we scared you,” he continues and I see the light shift from beneath the door.
He sighs loudly. “It might take us a while. I don’t want you stuck inside that tiny closet for that long. It has to be warm in there.”
A few minutes go by, and I wonder if he’s given up.
Suddenly something appears beneath the door. It’s money.
“We were only chasing you because you forgot your tip. Rage didn’t send us. My brother and I aren’t part of his club anymore.”
Anymore, but they were.
If Chance knows I’m here, he’ll never let me leave. He’s very protective of the people he loves. But maybe he doesn’t know yet. I have no choice but to let these guys fix the van and as soon as it’s done, I’ll hit the road.
I know my brother means well, but this is best for both of us. There’s no need to be reminded of our past, and that is exactly what seeing each other again would do. It would keep us trapped in a world with his mother and my father. He has a new life, and it doesn’t need to include me.
My hand reaches out to take the bill and I notice it’s folded. A man’s fingertip touches mine under the doorway when I try to grab it. I freeze.
He doesn’t say anything, but his finger moves against mine softly. Minutes go by as I let him touch me. I’ve never let someone touch me so intimately. I don’t understand why I’m letting him.
“Tell me not to open the door,” he says, his voice calm despite the tension beneath it.
I pull my hand away, taking the money with it. My hands shake when I run my finger over the edge of the cash, realizing he’s folded it into a butterfly.
“Luna, I mean it, tell me not to open the door.”
I’m not sure why I do it, but I reach up and turn the handle myself. I don’t open it fully. My heart is pounding out of my chest. “I’m … I’m okay in here,” I say quietly. “I’m not scared.”
“So, you’re not hiding from us?”
A shaky breath leaves my lungs. “No.” I pause. “But I only came to Cheyenne to make sure Mila was okay. I don’t want to stay here.”
“Okay.”
“Please don’t tell Chance I’m here. I don’t want him to feel bad that I don’t want to see him.”
“Well, I don’t know how to tell you this, but his wife is eventually going to tell him you’re here. The only reason he isn’t blowing up my phone right now is because she’s holding off until after their wedding ceremony, or at least that’s my guess.”
“Serenity looked beautiful in her dress,” I say quietly, tears coming to my eyes. My siblings are lucky to have someone like her in their lives. He told me she’s a wonderful mother to my little sister and my new nephew.
“I hope you know that Rage would help you in a heartbeat.”
“I know. He already is by taking such good care of Mila.”
A vehicle pulls up and stops near my van. I yank on the door to pull it closed but he grabs it. The door slowly pulls away from my hand.
I lift my gaze, and the second our eyes connect the breath leaves my lungs.
His eyes are dark blue, the same color the sky turns right before revealing the stars. Enough light to see what’s in front of you, but dark enough to hide what’s in the shadows.
Carson doesn’t say anything, and neither do I.
When the van door begins to open, he closes the closet quickly, shutting me inside.
“We got the parts,” someone tells him a second later.
“I’ll be right there. I just came in to wash my hands.”
“I see you got the part off.”
“Yeah, these older vehicles are so much easier to work on than the newer ones.”
“I hear you there, brother.”
It’s quiet for a moment before Carson slides his fingers back under the door. I reach out and touch them lightly. He taps his fingertips against mine before pulling his hand away.
I breathe a sigh of relief, because he’s going to keep my being here a secret.
My eyes fall closed as I listen to the muffled voices of the men outside, but one voice in particular holds my attention.
I smile at the butterfly in the dark. Chance used to do the same thing. I wonder if he told him about it. If he did, it means Carson knows my brother better than I thought.
My fingers straighten out every crease, memorizing each one as I go. I used to do this for hours when I would hide. It helped pass the time, and it kept my mind in the present. And that is the only place that brings me peace.
I’m not sure how many times I refold Carson’s butterfly before my eyes grow heavy and I fall asleep.
When I wake, the first thing I notice is the familiar sway of my van.
I’m going!
Wait … I’m going.
Where am I going?!