Chapter 45
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
THORA
It’s past one in the morning when I make it to the farm.
The closest hotel is a bit of a drive, and I wasn’t going to my place, not when Anton knows how to find me there. My eyes burn from crying the whole way and his words keep circling through my head, no matter how many times I try to shove them away.
By the time the gates come into view, my hands are shaking on the steering wheel. I slow the car as I pass the bed-and-breakfast, then keep going toward the horse stalls because I want to be near my horses.
Thankfully, Greer should be asleep once I get to the house. If she finds out what happened, my family will come after Anton. I don’t want that. I’m not after revenge or bloodshed. I just want to curl against a pillow and mourn the love we could’ve had.
The back of my throat burns as I stop near the stables, sitting in the car while the whole barn sits washed in shadows. I’m about to pull around to the side when I spot a figure moving near the paddock fence.
Who the hell is up this late?
Security, maybe?
When I turn my headlights on, the figure stops and turns toward me, and that’s when I realize it’s Charlie. The second he notices me, he smiles and heads over.
I roll down my window as he approaches.
“Hey, Thora. What are you doing up?”
Then he gets close enough to see my face, and his brows shoot up.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.” My voice cracks around the lie. “I’m fine.”
Charlie doesn’t call me on it, but his expression says he knows I’m bullshitting. “Do you want me to get someone? Greer? Should I call your mom?”
“No.” The answer comes out too fast, and I shake my head, wiping beneath one eye with the heel of my hand. “No, please don’t. I’m okay. I just need to get some sleep. If I can.”
I sniffle, trying my best to hold it together.
He nods. “All right.”
I glance past him toward the stalls. “Why are you up this late?”
A faint, tired smile touches his mouth. “Insomnia. Most nights, anyway. I usually come out here when I can’t sleep and find something to do.”
“That sucks.”
“Eh.” He shrugs. “I’m used to it by now.” Then he studies me a little too closely. “Want me to sit with you for a bit?”
I turn off the car and sigh. “Yeah. Maybe just for a little while.”
He walks around to the passenger side, opens the door, and lowers himself into the seat beside me. Neither of us speaks at first, and I’m not even sure what to say.
I can’t tell him the truth. I can’t tell anyone the truth. I just have to live with it.
Charlie leans back against the seat and looks out through the windshield. “Was it him?”
I turn toward him. “Who?”
“The guy.” His attention stays on the barn. “The one who made you upset last time. What did he do this time? Why do you let him?”
My fingers strain against the steering wheel as he faces me, his mouth pressed into a thin line.
“He’s not good enough for you. None of them are.”
My brows knit. “What do you mean?”
Charlie stares out the window again. “The Whitlocks. The Marinovs. Men like that. Families like them.”
My head jerks back as unease slithers up the back of my neck. “You work for my family.”
“I work on the farm.” His eyes slide over my face, and I curl my arms around myself, suddenly feeling exposed. “That doesn’t mean I like them.”
“Charlie, what the hell is going on? What are you saying?”
My pulse thumps harder, until I can barely hear anything else. Sliding my hand toward the door handle, I try to be as subtle as possible as I start to pull it.
“You don’t belong to them. Don’t you see that?”
Goose bumps spread across my arms.
Why would he say that? He doesn’t know who I am. He can’t know.
Right?
“Charlie, what are you saying?”
“You should be with your real family.” His eyes enlarge, almost crazed, and my heart starts pounding so hard it echoes in my head.
“Wh-what?”
He slides closer, his grin turning manic. “Deep down, you’ve always known. You even told me you never felt like one of them, and that’s because you’re not.”
Every instinct screams at me to get out, while my mind struggles to make sense of what he’s saying.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do.” His words are almost gentle, which only makes them more terrifying. “But that’s okay. I’ve got you now, Penny.”
My fingers go still around the handle. All the blood drains from my face. I can’t move. I can’t think.
This can’t be happening. He can’t be…
Who the hell is he?
“Tell me what’s going on, Charlie.” The words tremble out of me as I try to keep him talking, hoping I can distract him long enough to get out of the car and scream for help.
I pull the handle again, but before I can push the door open, his grip snaps around my wrist.
“You don’t get to leave me.”
A chill skitters over my entire body. “Let go.”
“You don’t have to be scared of me.” He tips his head, his smile turning almost demonic as his fingers cinch until it burns.
“Then let go.”
His thumb drags over the pulse point at my wrist. “I would never hurt you.”
“Charlie…” Tears burn in my eyes. “Let go of me.”
He sighs as though I’m breaking his heart. “You still don’t understand, do you? You were never supposed to be theirs. They took you and made you think this was home.”
A shudder runs down my spine, and when I yank my wrist, his grip only clamps down harder. The mask of the harmless, tired ranch hand falls away until there’s nothing left but a man I don’t recognize.
“Please, Charlie,” I cry. “Please let me go.”
“Shh. Everything will be okay. I found you, and I won’t let them take you away from me again.”
I shove at his chest, panic taking over, knowing I have to fight. “Get out of my car.”
“Not yet.”
“Get out!”
I reach for the horn, but he catches my arm and wrenches it back, pain tearing through my shoulder. The second he lets go, a sharp sting pierces my thigh. My head begins to swim, the barn lamps smearing into long, golden streaks across the windshield while Charlie’s face blurs in front of me.
“G-g-get away.” I swing at him and fumble for the door handle, but my limbs have already stopped obeying me.
“Everything will be okay now.” His words fade beneath the darkness, dragging me under. “Sleep, Penny. I’m taking you home.”
My fingers tingle, and the last thing I see is the stable roof framed against the night sky before everything disappears.