Chapter 7
Something cold and wet nudged Paige’s hand and brought her back from a beautiful dream. A doggy snuffle in the face and a little whimper told her Chester needed to go outside.
“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll take you out. But be quiet and don’t wake Will.”
Will’s cedarwood and amber scent enveloped her when she slipped on his dress shirt to cover her nakedness, then she and the dog headed to the front door. By the time they got downstairs Chester was prancing with impatience. His nails clicked on the hardwood floor like an incontinent tap dancer. “Hang on, bud.” She flipped the lock and the lab bolted outside before she could open the door all the way open.
Goosebumps rippled along her bare legs as she stood in the open door and peered into the cool early morning. Peace settled over her like it did every time she surveyed the property. She loved the remoteness of the place. In fact, they’d chosen it for that reason. To be their own little bubble of peace. Their retreat from life’s craziness.
Growing up the way she did, peace hadn’t been part of her life. How could it, with a constant hustle running and the subsequent threat of exposure dogging her family? And since she was never allowed relationships with anyone outside her family, she hadn’t known that most people didn’t live on a constant diet of adrenaline and fear.
Not until she ran had she realized a peaceful existence was possible, and that became goal number one in her life. She’d found it in this small town with her dog, her land, and with Will – always with Will.
“Let’s go, Chester, time to come inside.” Once in the house the dog wanted food. The clang of his kibble going into the bowl rang through the kitchen. “Dang it. I hope that doesn’t wake Will, Chester.” While her pup ate, she filled his water bowl from the tap. A smile split her face at the thought of the man she loved putting her keys down the garbage disposal. The move was so unlike him. Of course, she had a spare key in the side pocket of the bag. And she had another key to her car she kept at the storage facility. Always vigilant, always ready to run, that was her family’s moto.
Her purse vibrated and she pulled her phone from the outside pocket. There were several messages from Will, and two from her bridesmaids, but the last one turned the blood in her body to shards of ice. It was from her father.
Good news. The senator and his wife have invited the whole family to their house for a post-wedding celebration on Sunday. We’re barbequing. Won’t that be fun? Too bad you’ll be on your honeymoon and won’t be able to join us. Thanks for the introduction, you’re forgiven.
The phone clattered to the table, her numb fingers incapable of holding the device. A small whimper escaped on an exhale. This couldn’t be happening. She should’ve known they would jump in to set their own con into motion. She’d been so panicked about getting away that she’d left her new family unprotected.
She couldn’t stay. She had to leave. If she and Will didn’t get married, then they wouldn’t have any kind of foothold in her in-law’s lives.
A pair of underwear was out of the bag before she could think twice about her plan, followed by a shirt, jeans and bra. Socks and tennis shoes came last. She glanced around the kitchen, frantic to get her toxic life away from Will and his family. There wasn’t anything else she needed, but so many things she wanted. The agony of all she was leaving buckled her knees, but she squashed the thought of a happily ever after with Will and zipped the bag.
“So you’re still going to leave me?”
She whipped around at the sound of Will’s sleepy, hurt voice. Tears flooded her eyes and choked off any verbal response. All she could manage was a nod.
He’d slipped on pajama pants and they rode low on his hips. His tousled hair fell over one eye and his strong chest rose and fell with each breath. But none of that could distract her from the pain and betrayal that scarred his face.
“I have to go, Will. I was going to come and tell you before I left.”
“Bullshit.”
Was it? She wanted to believe she would’ve told him, tried to explain to him why this had to happen. But she couldn’t swear to it, and it didn’t matter anyway.
He shoved his fingers through his hair. “Why, Paige? I thought we settled this last night.”
“My family has finagled an invitation to your parents’ house for the day after the wedding. They’ll find plenty of opportunities to get or plant any information they might need to be able to control your father.”
“That’s ridiculous, Paige. My father is an incredibly powerful man, he won’t just roll over and become their puppet.”
“He won’t have a choice. This is what my father does. He burrows his way into powerful people’s lives like a virus and then finds ways to blackmail them, and if he can’t find it he’ll fabricate it. And he’s very good at both.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“Then he’ll come after you. The only way to get this ugliness away from you and your sweet family is for me to leave. If I’m gone then there’s no reason for them to be in your lives.”
He approached her then like she was a wild, rabid animal. His warm hands gripped her elbows. “Paige, you are not like them. We can fight them together.”
He didn’t understand. He’d never seen them in action. The faces of all the men and women whose lives had been ruined exploded through her memory. Good, decent people whose only crime had been allowing her family to get a toehold in their lives.
“They’re poison. I’m poison.” She pulled free of his grasp and headed for the door.
“No, you’re not. You’re the best thing in my life. You don’t believe I can protect myself, my family, or you from these people. You don’t believe I can love you now that I know where you come from.”
“You don’t understand. How could you? You’re clean and honest and perfect. You could never understand this sewage.”
His arm shot out and he hit the wall with the flat of his hand. “What the hell, Paige? What exactly do you think I do for a living? I deal with people like your family every damn day of my perfect life.”
The twist of her stomach made her nauseous. Not only was she hurting him, but now she’d insulted him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” The tears she’d held at bay gathered and spilled from her eyes. “I just can’t take the risk, Will. I love you too much to put you in the path of the kind of destruction my family is capable of.”
“I don’t give a shit about any of that. Don’t you understand? I only care about you.”
“Will—”
He moved to her. With both hands, he smoothed the hair from her face and rested his forehead against hers. “You’re killing me, Paige. Don’t do this. Please don’t go.”
That was the final blow. A strangled sob lodged in her throat. She pulled away from him and opened the front door. “I love you.” It was all she could squeeze out around the pain she knew she’d live with for the rest of her life.