Chapter 11
I woke on the living room sofa with John watching over me. So close, he was just so close, waiting as if he expected something more from me.
I trembled with cold and shock, but I had nothing else to give in that moment.
Male voices rumbled, pushing away the fog inside my head.
Will’s voice.
I kicked off the blankets and ran to him in the kitchen. He caught me and lifted me into his arms. He rested his warm lips on my temple in a soft, unending kiss.
My heart raced.
Will’s mouth, his rough whisper, swept over my ear.
“Are you all right, baby? Did he hurt you?”
“No, I’m okay.”
I swallowed against the intense pain in my throat, lying.
“Never do that to me again, Elle.”
He pressed his lips against my skin again, letting another kiss linger on my temple.
We didn’t allow our eyes to connect, not this time. We knew better. We knew what it would mean for us in the power of that moment.
I had fallen hard for him…for the man who killed for me.
As he lowered me to my feet, a kitchen towel unraveled from his right hand. We stared at the bloody broken skin covering his knuckles until he jerked his hand behind his back.
I tugged on his arm.
“Come sit at the counter. Let me help you with it, Will.”
He nodded, and I grabbed the first aid kit from the cabinet.
“It doesn’t upset you then,” he said.
“Upset me how? I’ve seen blood before.”
“Don’t play games with me, Elle. You know what I mean.”
“Say it,” I whispered.
We stared into each other’s eyes. And this time, neither of us dared to look away.
“It doesn’t unsettle you to see my busted-up hand when you know I’ve just beat someone to death with it.”
Without looking away, I took his hand and put it under the cold running water.
“No, and I don’t know why. Maybe it should bother me, but it just doesn’t.”
Nothing he did could change how much I wanted him, and I couldn’t offer him or even myself an explanation for it.
He stared at my face while I focused on cleaning the wounds and wrapping his hand.
“Why are you good at this—have you had practice with someone else?” he snapped.
But instead of verbally responding to his jealous assumption, I pressed hard on his hand with an ice compress and smiled.
He winced.
“There you go. Ice for fifteen minutes. Repeat every hour.”
His mouth twitched until he let his lips curve into a smile, and then he winked.
“Merciless woman.”
I shrugged, still smiling.
“Okay, Will. I agree to go to England with you.”
Our grins faded, and he nodded.
“Good.”
I couldn’t see another path forward. Our family was gone. I had nothing more to lose, but Lissie did have something to lose. If she was a Hastings, then she had a family. A father, a grandmother, three uncles.
How could I keep that from her?
And going to the UK meant I could sort through the mess and find some answers. I could learn more about my family and their lies. I could learn to protect myself.
Then there was Will, the man I craved from the moment the whispers about a love story found their way into my soul at that damn fucking parade.
“We’ll need our passports. I’m not going back there, but I’ll tell you where to find them. And grab more clothes for us, too?”
Will checked his watch and nodded again.
“Start packing what you have here. I want to leave the country quickly and quietly.”
As I finished packing our things, Will rushed into my bedroom.
“Police are here, Elle.”
I ran to the living room and peeked out the window.
Josh Mendes was getting out of his car.
“It’s Josh by himself. He won’t come to the front door. I’ll meet him outside before he gets to the kitchen door.”
Will grabbed my arm.
“You’re not going anywhere. He’s in uniform. We don’t know what he wants or even what side he’s on.”
“Will, listen. Josh won’t hurt me. I can convince him to let me go.”
He dug his fingers deeper into my arm, stared at me, then jerked me closer to him.
“Don’t be so sure. I sure as fuck wouldn’t let you go.”
“What? I’m not with him like that anymore. And you’re hurting my arm.”
He quickly released his grip on me.
Ben came into the room.
“You two need to get out there and let him know how high the stakes are…now. Otherwise, my brother, options are rather limited unless you plan to kill him.”
I eased back into Will’s space until his breath warmed my face again, and his dangerous energy surrounded us both. I put my hands on his forearms.
“I think Ben’s right. We have to tell Josh everything. He won’t do anything harmful. But promise me, Will…promise you won’t hurt him.”
Will tucked some hair behind my ear, paused in thought for a second, then he nodded.
“If that’s what you want but let me be quite clear. I will not keep my word if he’s aggressive with you.”
I nodded, and then Will and I stepped outside just as Josh came up the steps and shouted at me.
“Why haven’t you answered your goddamn phone? State police are due tomorrow, and we haven’t even interviewed you. What the fuck is wrong with you, Ellie? I find you here, shacked up w?—”
Will moved in on Josh before I could get between them.
“You’ll watch your fucking mouth when you speak to her.”
“Go fuck yourself, man. I saw you two at Nick’s, and I have questions for you as well.”
Will’s chest vibrated. He stood toe to toe with Josh.
I had to do something.
“Josh, please…give me five minutes. I’ll tell you everything.”
Will interjected.
“Listen to the strain in her voice. She was attacked, and another assassin will come for her.”
Josh’s gaze jumped to me, then dropped to the bruises on my neck. He swallowed hard. His expression softened.
“Go on, Ellie. You tell me what you know.”
I reflexively touched my throat.
“Will, go inside and let me talk to Josh alone, okay?”
Will touched my cheek with his wrapped knuckles.
“I’ll be right on the other side of the door. And as for you, cop, you be fucking sure to remember you’re not in charge here, not when it comes to her.”
I knew two things. Josh wouldn’t lay a finger on me, and it didn’t matter who came near me, because Will would always fiercely protect me.
After Will closed the door, Josh and I sat on the top step.
Josh stared at the clouds drifting over the Atlantic while listening to me talk.
Hearing my own crazy words struck me as so surreal, like I’d fallen down a rabbit hole.
“So there it is. Now you know everything I know, Josh. And I’m asking you to let me take Lissie and go with him.”
He dropped his forehead into his hands for just a second before responding.
“Jesus, I’ve been so afraid for you. I thought you were dead. Was Lissie hurt in any way?”
“She wasn’t touched…they never found her, and now she’s safe. Josh, I’m really sorry that I’ve put you in this position. I know you don’t have to help me because we’re no longer?—”
“—don’t you say it, Ellie. You don’t need to remind me that I’ve lost you.”
“In my heart, in my gut, I know I won’t survive without him. If I stay here, the authorities will never believe me…and I’ll lose my life just like Isabel. Lissie will have no one.”
Josh shut his eyes.
“Go to the UK. If you leave now, I won’t stop you.”
“After I’m gone, do what you need to do. I won’t blame you for anything.”
“I’ll wait a few hours to make my report and alert the chief, but I can’t offer you any more than this. And I want you to understand that my superiors will work to bring you back to the US.”
“But don’t they need an indictment to get me back?”
“Yeah, but the State Department could revoke your passport, which might cause your deportation.”
With a heavy sigh, I accepted the situation for what it was. We didn’t have much else to say after that, nothing comforting in any case. So we sat there quietly with his arm around my shoulders, and my head resting against his.
But the moment passed, and he pulled away, leaving without saying another word.
He had warned me before…if we weren’t lovers, then we weren’t friends either. I really had lost so much. And now my home as well.
I went inside, and Will waited by the door for me. His eyes explored mine, probing, searching.
I could only guess that in that moment, he discovered the depth of my sorrow, because he opened his strong arms and waited for me to step inside them.
He interrupted the pain before it took me down.
“We’re free to leave,” I whispered.