Page 9 of Escaped (Snowbound with a Stranger #3)

Wrestling Demons

Eli

When had the world become such a precarious place?

Once upon a time, I’d received my instructions and carried them out without question, receiving commendations as I went about my business.

There had been nothing stark or miraculous about those events, nothing noteworthy, save for the number of souls I’d slayed—an anonymous tally that should have shocked me.

I’d played by the numbers, honing my craft and moving frame by frame until that memorable day Hawkins had spectacularly taken me out of the game.

Only then, from the outside, had I seen the error of my ways.

To take a life on command was one thing, but to obey without query had been foolish.

In my capitulation, I’d systematically failed to notice Hawkins’ vile treachery, and I’d been paying for that mistake ever since.

Running away to the wilderness and trying to shut out all the associated emotions had only been the initial cost.

Being ejected from the only purpose I’d ever known had changed me.

I wasn’t the same Eli from that point on, but then the asshole had come back, hijacking my and Erin’s love story and trying to destroy what we had.

That had been the line in the sand—my breaking point.

That was when Hawkins’ story had to end.

“Are you okay, sir?”

Erin’s voice sounded tiny in the vast garage we’d eventually found on the outskirts of Hawkins’ lair.

The entrance had been locked with a chain, but Erin had been able to slip through the slim gap and find a pair of bolt cutters Hawkins’ guys had left on the nearby shelving.

Once she passed those to me, the main doors were open in moments.

The thought occurred that there could be a sensor on those doors, sending a warning to anyone in the main compound that the garage had been opened, but it was placated by the memory of Hawkins sprawled out on the ground.

Whoever was receiving those messages, it wouldn’t be him.

That realization warmed me.

“Are you in pain?”

Concern echoed in her voice.

“What?”

Well, was I? Tuning into the ache in my shoulder, I accepted that there was considerable discomfort, but it was nothing I couldn’t manage.

I’d been shot before.

I knew how it went.

The bullet had missed my vital organs, and so long as I eventually found a medic to dig the metal out of my shoulder and ensure there was no infection, everything would be fine.

“No, I’m all right, little girl.”

“Right.”

She pressed her lips into a hard line, as though suppressing her next comment.

“It’s just that you seem… distracted.”

“Yeah.”

It was harder to argue with that. Standing on the edge of the fleet of vehicles Hawkins had ‘accrued’, I’d found myself dwelling on how we’d ended up being there, in the middle of Hawkins’ circus, but she was right. That wasn’t the moment for self-reflection.

“It’s been a long day.”

At that point, I wasn’t even sure how long we’d been held there. The hours had been meaningless in the dank cell with Baron, and time had been speeding up and lengthening ever since.

“But we made it.”

Reaching for my wrist, she smiled.

“And this fob must unlock one of these cars.”

“Exactly.”

That was why we were there.

“Give it a go, little girl. Let’s see where our ride is hiding.”

Flashing the fob in her delicate fingers, she pressed the button, her attention shifting with mine to the rows of shiny vehicles lined up before us. I dreaded to think where Hawkins had acquired them all from, but since I was about to steal one for our personal use, I was hardly in a position to question the idiot’s morality.

From the third row, the orange lights of a flashy dark sedan sprang to life.

“There!”

She pointed excitedly, already heading toward it and leaving a trail of wet sock footprints on the concrete floor.

“Wait,”

I called out, hurrying after her.

In theory, the space was used to house Hawkins’ no doubt stolen loot, but we didn’t know what else to expect. She might have taken Hawkins out of the equation—though we still didn’t know for certain that he was dead—but the asshole could still have a morbid surprise or two up his sleeve yet.

“I thought we were getting out of here.”

She turned toward me, her brow creasing as I caught up.

“We are.”

God, she was gorgeous. How had I stumbled along without her for so long? How had I found the beauty in any new day without her beside me? “But be careful, little girl. I don’t trust anything that slimy bugger has had his sweaty hands on.”

She wrinkled her nose at the, presumably, unwelcome reminder of our noxious host. “Okay.”

“Let me check the car out first.”

Glancing into the vehicle’s dark interior, a thrum of paranoia whirred within me.

What if Hawkins had left the keys in his desk as a ruse for any unsuspecting traitors looking to steal from him? Would opening the doors trigger an explosion that would see him have the last laugh? What about starting the ignition? The apprehension twisting in my stomach was suddenly more painful than the bullet lodged in my flesh. I couldn’t risk anything that might see Erin harmed any more than she already had been.

“Step away.”

I motioned for her to move.

“Just in case.”

The crease in her brow deepened.

“Just in case of what, sir?”

“Hawkins.”

I spat his name into the shadows, my attention darting to the corners of the garage. At the very least, Hawkins would have had cameras erected around the place, so sooner or later, someone would be viewing what happened next. I didn’t want to give the sick fucks anything to enjoy.

“Who knows what he had planned when he left those keys for someone to find?”

I knew how suspicious I sounded, but there was no way around it.

“I found them in one of his desk drawers,”

she explained.

“I don’t think he intended for anyone to find them.”

“Humor me, please.”

After everything she’d discovered about Hawkins, surely, she couldn’t query my mistrust of the reptile?

“Okay.”

Retreating to the next line of cars, she tugged her lip between her teeth.

“But what about you? Nothing can happen to you, either.”

“Oh, really?”

My smile was wry as I met her eyes through the half-light.

“And why would that be?”

It was hardly the time to torment her—stranded there in Hawkins’ garage while we waited for Baron—but she sounded so adorable that my worries were temporarily assuaged, and that old need to play with her began to unfurl.

“Because.”

She flung her arms into the air, the gesture reminiscent of a woman half her age.

“Because?”

Taking a step in her direction, I repeated the word back to her slowly.

“Because of how I feel about you.”

Her head lowered, and despite the poor lighting and her best attempts to conceal her expression, I swore I saw her blush.

“And how do you feel about me?”

Yet again, I was struck by the inappropriateness of the place and timing, but, closing the distance between us, the question suddenly seemed right.

There had been no declarations of intention between us beyond our shared desire to make it out of the cabin alive and see what might come next, but after Hawkins’ interjections, things were different. I saw it in her eyes and in the frantic grasp of her touches, and I felt it, too; the realization that losing the other would be more than only an inconvenience. It would be catastrophic.

Hawkins had given us perspective. In an odd way, we owed the creep.

“Sir.”

Her voice was a sigh.

“Don’t make me say it here.”

“Say what?”

I reached for her heated face, brushing my thumb over her skin as I insisted her gaze rise to meet mine. There, in the darkness, she was the center of my entire world.

“Please.”

My balls tightened at her breathy plea.

“I want to tell you how I feel,”

she went on.

“But not here. Not like this.”

“Needless to say, you don’t want anything to happen to me, though?”

I wished I could scoop her up, splay her over the nearest car hood, and fucking devour her. My amplified desire meant I scarcely even felt the splintering ache in my shoulder anymore.

“No, sir.”

Her eyes fluttered closed when my fingers knotted in her silky hair.

“Definitely not.”

“Come here.”

Pressing her toward me, I swooped. I might not have had time to make her mine again properly, but there was a moment to remind us both of the delicious intimacy that awaited when we’d found Baron and finally got out of there.

She moaned as I withdrew, a guttural noise that spoke directly to my cock. “Eli.”

Her hand rose to graze the back of my neck.

“I’m serious. If it’s not safe for me, then how do we know it’s okay for you?”

“We don’t.”

I glanced back to the car.

“But it’s our best chance of getting you out of here in one piece, so I’m going to go for it anyway.”

“But—"

Silencing her no doubt legitimate complaint with one finger, I winked at her as I moved away. Whatever anxiety I’d held about what would happen, I sensed it melting away.

She was falling in love with me.

Sure, she hadn’t said so explicitly, but it had been there in her eyes, in her words, and in her kiss. The most sublime aspect of the entire spectacle was that, by some miracle, the emotions bubbling inside of me conveyed exactly the same feelings.

I loved her too.

I couldn’t imagine another miserable day in my life without having her there to hold, to protect, and to adore.

“Just wait there.”

I pointed to where she stood.

“This won’t take long.”

“Eli.”

She sounded on the brink of tears as I turned back to the car, just able to make out my reflection in the glass of the driver’s window.

“Unlock the fob again, please.”

My attention drilled into the dark glass.

“These new vehicles often lock themselves automatically.”

She pulled in an audible breath, but instead of protesting, she complied, instigating the burst of orange light that we’d witnessed the first time. Time slowed in my head until the entire universe around me was motionless, and there was only me at its core, my galloping heart the only clue I was still awake and not dreaming the pounding intensity.

Then, as though someone had hit fast-forward on the movie of my life, my hand grasped for the door handle, and I yanked the metal toward me in one swift motion. My pulse paused altogether as the door opened without consequence, and I found myself staring into the newly illuminated interior.

Thank fuck.

“Is everything okay?”

She hovered over my shoulder, much closer than the place I’d left her.

“Yes, but let me start the engine.”

That was the only way to know the car was entirely safe.

“Now?”

She sounded confused as I slipped inside the leather interior. Staring around the control panel, I identified the button that would trigger the ignition and, steeling myself, I glanced back to check Erin was still waiting far enough out of the way.

“One moment,”

I called as I met her knitting brows.

She didn’t move or protest, but I could see the queries in her gaze, the litany of questions that deserved to be answered, but I’d ignore them all until I knew the car was safe.

Blowing out a breath, my foot slid to the clutch as my finger hovered over the button. One small push would do it. One tiny nudge and I’d know my fate. The few seconds it took to press the silver control seemed like the longest of my life, but summoning the courage, I demanded the engine’s compliance.

The quiet, stealthy mechanism sprang to life around me, emanating a contented purr and little more, and my body slumped back against the headrest in relief.

It’s okay.

The words resonated around me as I climbed out of the vehicle.

We were going to be okay.

“Happy now?”

She edged closer.

“Assuming the thing has fuel, this looks like it’s our ride out of here.”

In my concern, I’d forgotten to check the tank, but there had to be at least enough to put some miles between us and our current location.

“Thank God.”

She rushed toward me, grazing my left side as she grabbed hold of my hand.

“Now we just have to wait for your friend.”

Baron.

An image of him sprang into my mind as I guided her into the passenger seat.

What the hell was keeping him?

I couldn’t say for certain how long it had been since we’d parted company, but I knew the things she and I had got through since then; dealing with Hawkins’ latest goons, finding our way out of his hellhole, and me bearing the brunt of my newest gunshot wound while I carried my little girl to the comparative sanctuary of the garage. It must have been at least half an hour.

He’d been behind us, so I knew it would take him time to fend off the guns-for-hire and find his way out to the garage, but after so long, I was surprised he hadn’t wandered through the open doors.

Surprised and worried.

“Let’s get in,”

I told her, watching her slip into the fancy interior.

“We can make a hastier getaway when the time comes.”

“Maybe it has a heater.”

She glanced at me guiltily.

“I know it’s nothing compared to being shot, but my feet are freezing.”

“I’m sure it has a heater.”

My lips tugged at her simple needs, but sliding back into the driver’s seat, I couldn’t shake the thought of Baron.

Where is he? What if he hasn’t made it?

I hesitated at the dismal idea, envisioning having to leave without him. How long would I make her wait before I decided his fate was sealed? How much time did we even have before some of Hawkins’ idiots found us and burst the tires of our getaway car with more bullets?

Finding the car’s heater, I raised the temperature and directed the fans toward her.

“I’m concerned about Baron.”

It wasn’t like me to be so open about my feelings, especially when fear was concerned, but if the last couple of days had taught me anything, it was that life was too short not to share how I felt.

We never knew what would happen next or which moment could be our last.

She reached for my hand.

“I know, sir. It was brave of him to stay behind and let us run.”

“Or stupid.”

The laughter that left my lips was hollow.

“Typical Baron, though. He always has been a heroic son of a bitch.”

“Maybe he just can’t find us,”

she offered, swallowing as though she already thought it was a lie.

“He’d find us.”

There was certainty in my voice. Trailing a target was practically the first lesson they taught us in training.

“He’d follow the trail we left.”

Looking into her beleaguered expression, I sensed we both knew the answer to my unspoken riddle. Baron could be dead, taken out by another of Hawkins’ gun-wielding morons, but there was no way for us to know for sure.

“Whatever happens, we stay together.”

Then and there, I made her the vow.

“No more running away and no more being separated.”

She nodded, raising her wet sock to the hot fan as if resolved to my conclusion.

“Sounds good, sir.”

“I’m glad we agree.”

I meant it. There was enormous solace in knowing we were together. I just hoped to God that Baron hadn’t had to make the ultimate sacrifice to facilitate the reunion.

“We’ll give Baron five more minutes.”