Chapter 19
No nightmares—no knives, no distorted faces, and no death.
I had slept in Will’s arms through the entire night without dreaming.
There had been only Will.
He planned to leave after he finished training with Thomas in the gym, and I couldn’t bear not kissing him once more before he went back to London. So I leaped off his bed and found my dress neatly draped over a chair, and then hurried down the corridor to my own room.
When I burst through my door, Mrs. Bates was already there, misting the roses.
“G’morning, dearest. Lily will get on with breakfast soon.”
“Mrs. Bates, really, I don’t mind going down to the kitchen.”
“That’s not how we do things round here. I wouldn’t like to see you at the table with all the men and their rabid appetites and poor manners,” she said.
I’d picked the same fight with her the morning before and the morning before that, battling an antiquated custom that she adored for some reason. And each morning, she refused to yield.
I supposed I could ask Will to make her stop. I shook my head. No, I wouldn’t, though. I needed to go along with the traditions of his family home while I stayed there.
“Okay, you win. But just toast and coffee. Maybe some fruit.”
I flashed her a smile and went into the bathroom.
After my quick shower, I headed down the staircase, passing John as he came up. He smiled, and a trickle of blood from a cut on his brow mixed with sweat and ran down the side of his face.
I stopped short.
“You’re hurt?”
He dabbed at the small laceration with his fingertip.
“That’s nothing. It happens.”
I squinted.
“Which one of your brothers did it?”
Will and Thomas were massive compared to him.
“Thom. Hey, did you see how the rain cleared out?”
I nodded.
“I did. The sunshine’s beautiful this morning. Where is Will…still in the gym?”
“Yeah, with Thomas.”
John continued up the stairs, three at a time, just as the sunlight moved into the hall.
Eastridge was such an amazing house, but I craved more, craved the outdoors. I needed sunshine to touch my bare skin, to walk along the sea and absorb its energy.
I’d heard about South East England’s lush green landscapes and quaint villages and the charming coastline—and I wanted to see everything for myself. But for now, the Hastings estate was all I had, so I hit the foyer to grab a quick breath of fresh air before going to the basement.
One of Will’s soldiers stepped in front me. His expression was sober, though he had kind eyes. He smelled like evergreen and new leather.
“I can’t let you pass through the door, Miss James.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Sorry. I need approval from Mr. Hastings first.”
It wasn’t his fault, but I snapped anyway.
“Great. Let’s just go see him about that.”
We headed for the door beneath the main staircase to the basement. Down there, closed doors lined the concrete corridor. The first three doors had no visible handles. Farther down, two sets of steel doors led into the gym.
The soldier opened one door and waited for me to walk through, following me as I made a beeline to the far end, where Will stood with Ben and Thomas.
With the towel hanging around his neck, he wiped sweat off his face. When he saw us, he sprinted across the pale wooden floor and met us in the middle.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” he asked.
I pointed at his damn guard.
“This happened.”
He titled his chin to dismiss the guy as he glared down at me.
“Why are you upset? He’s doing his job. And I did warn you about leaving.”
I put my hands on my hips.
“I just wanted to breathe some fresh air for a minute. I wasn’t going to leave.”
He closed in on me and forced me to meet his eyes.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, and you’ll follow my orders.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“I am not your prisoner.”
His jaw clenched, and his eyes flashed. He was prepared to fight with me and win.
“Aren’t you? We’ve talked about this, Elle.”
“No! And have we really? You?—”
I halted my argument.
I wouldn’t fight with him. I couldn’t bear the idea that if I did, we would be distant physically and emotionally while he was in London. I touched his forearms. And as I traced over the veins, my thoughts changed course, so I tried a gentle demand.
“Take me to the beach, Will. I need to get out for a while.”
His expression relaxed, and he exhaled. A bead of sweat fell from his face and landed on my cheek.
He was thoughtful for a minute, and then he nodded.
“After I make a few calls. I’ll leave for London later.”
He wiped the drop of sweat off my face with his thumb.
“Really? You’ll take me…today?”
Lowering his head, he pressed his salty lips against mine.
“Quite right. I’ll deny you nothing. When you ask me for something reasonable, it’ll be yours.”
Then he grabbed my phone from my back pocket and shouted for Thomas to come over.
I looked at the floor.
“Oh. I listened to the messages. I’m an official suspect now. Josh wanted to know if you?—”
He pulled my chin up.
“—I know. It’s all right, Elle. He called my office. US police demand to interview you. If we give that to them, they’ll likely drop the matter. I’ve had my lawyer contact them and arrange for the Met’s commissioner to conduct the interview here.”
I tried not to panic, but my body vibrated with it.
“But what do I say?”
“You don’t need to worry. My lawyer will direct the commissioner’s questioning.”
“What if they don’t believe me?”
“Elle, you didn’t do anything wrong. You’ll give them the interview, and I’ll get the cop anything else he needs to move this along. We’ll clean it up. You have my word.”
He handed my phone to Thomas.
“Get rid of it all. Scrape everything online and dump it.”
Thomas was a genius with the internet and computer systems. Will had mentioned before that his brother could hack anything, so Thomas would breach the phone company’s firewalls, other accounts linked to me, and the social media sites to remove the traces of my digital history.
Vanished. Just like that. Gone.
Like the rest of my family.