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twenty-seven

Penelope

L ast night was probably the longest of my life. I’m exhausted and eternally grateful that I have the day off today.

I got Kai off to school without issues, and now I plan to take a very long nap.

Until my phone—the burner—rings.

I quickly rush to it and answer. “Yes?”

“You’re sure you don’t want me to come get you?” Quinn asks again.

“I’m sure,” I say apologetically.

“Will you explain what happened now?”

My poor brother must hate me at this point. He was an hour into the drive, about halfway to me because he was driving like a lunatic, worried as I was sobbing, and then I told him to go back home when Miles came back.

He kept asking what the hell happened, and I gave half answers because I wasn’t really sure how to explain it all. However, he deserves an answer.

I relay most of the details of the evening, about how I told Miles some of the truth, his reaction, the fact that I love him and he told me he loved me. Quinn listens in silence as I prattle on and on, hearing how absolutely batshit I sound.

In that moment, though, it felt like the right decision .

To leave town before anyone got deeper or Miles’s life became at risk.

It’s bad enough carrying the guilt that my son suffers for it, I didn’t want to add another person on the list.

Quinn is quiet after I finish explaining how he came back and my feelings around what I want now.

“Hello?” I ask after another minute passes.

“I’m here. Just wondering if I should come get you anyway, because you’re clearly a mess.”

“You’re the one who told me to date him,” I remind him.

“Yes. You’re right. I was the dumbass who forgot that women are incapable of not flying off the handle.”

I grumble. “I’m not certifiable.”

“Penny, you called me at one in the morning and told me that you needed me to come move you. I had activated everything. We were already looking for a new town, names, plans to mobilize, while I frantically was on my way to you because I thought—somehow—they found you. Not that you were scared because you’ve fallen in love. You just cried and said you had to leave. Over and over.”

I huff, bristling at the fact that I was ... irrational. “I am scared,” I admit.

“I bet. It’s fucking terrifying falling in love. It’s the single best and worst thing that ever happened to me. I couldn’t imagine my life without Ashton, and yet she drives me bonkers. At the same time, I know that I would quite literally die without her. I’ve felt the pain of losing her once, and I know that I could never do it again.”

Quinn and Ashton went through literal hell to get to where they are. I’d never seen my brother so broken, and when she left him, he fell apart.

“Then you understand why I’m so afraid of this?”

He lets out a long breath through his nose. “I understand. I just also think that you have to give Miles the chance to make his own choices. If he loves you, he’s not going to give up. I think you should trust him with your secrets. If there’s anyone in that town who is capable of doing what you need them to do, it’s him. Just think about it.”

“You’re telling me to risk his life too? ”

Quinn chuckles. “If he loves you, his only concern is you, and he doesn’t care about risks, because protecting you is worth it.”

The three of us are curled up on the couch, just finishing a movie that Kai picked out. We have family date nights at least once a week. Tonight was the only one we could make work. Tomorrow is the first hometown football game, which I was instructed I had to attend. Not by Miles, but by everyone.

The entire town shuts down.

Like, closed.

Every business, the parks, everything.

Friday nights in Ember Falls are for football, and the entire town attends to support the Bulldogs. So, tomorrow, we are going. Not just to support the football team, but because Miles will be there and we get special seating as his guests.

Kai is beyond excited, since Ethan and Briggs talk about it nonstop. They’ve been going to games since they can remember, and it’s “the best time ever.”

Kai looks over at Miles. “That movie was stupid.”

Miles laughs. “It really was, but you picked it.”

“Mom only gave me two choices.”

I roll my eyes. “I liked it.”

“Because you’re a girl and it had kissing,” Kai informs me. Apparently, my status as a female has definitely knocked me down a peg in the cool category.

Whereas Miles is the coolest person in the world.

Miles does his best to hide his smile. “I think guys like kissing too.”

Kai’s eyes flash to him, and the absolute horrification on his face is comical. “No, they don’t.”

I lean back, wondering how he plans to get out of this one. “Well, maybe not in movies.”

That seems to mollify my son. Kai lets out a long sigh. “Next time we get to watch something with fights.”

Oh boy. “Or we watch an animated film,” I offer as an alternative.

Kai shakes his head. “No way, Mom. We need war.”

I burst out laughing and Miles chuckles. “Okay, soldier. Go get ready for bed. You have school tomorrow.”

He stands, salutes—badly, I might add—and rushes off.

“Come here, love,” Miles says with his arm open. I scoot over, closer to him, and rest in the crook of his arm.

When he’s here on family date nights, we keep the PDA to a minimum, increasing it each time to get Kai comfortable with it. Tonight, he kissed me when he came in the door, which was the first time we’ve done that.

Kai didn’t even seem to care.

“That movie really was terrible,” I say, smiling up at him.

“Seriously, so far, you’ve picked two movies, and each one was worse than the last.”

I chuckle and nuzzle in more. “Whatever. Yours are all fighting and destruction.”

“I pick movies Kai will like. I’m just cementing my spot with him.”

“Any more cement and you’ll become a statue,” I mutter.

I don’t think Kai could like Miles more than he already does. He includes him all the time, puts an incredible amount of consideration into everything he does regarding him, and shows up. Every time he makes a promise, he delivers, and he’s honest when he doesn’t think he can do it.

Kai asked him a few days ago if he could take him to the rink, and Miles explained he couldn’t that day, but that he’d be able to on Saturday. Sure enough, Saturday morning, Miles was at the house to pick Kai up and spend the day with him when I had to work.

Miles hugs me close. “All part of my plan, sweetheart.”

Since my breakdown a week ago, we’ve been fairly smooth sailing. We haven’t brought it up again, but there’s this tension that sometimes builds, having given him the reality of our situation.

I talked to Ashton yesterday, and she assured me that there have been absolutely no indications that anyone is close to figuring out where I am. She also encouraged me to open up and give this burden to be shared.

She said her therapist also agrees .

There’s that.

I’ve been thinking about all of what I’ve been through and how it’s led me here. I feel safe and I know that Miles would do anything for us. He loves me. I love him with my whole heart and maybe all my worry was for nothing.

My brother is doing everything to protect us from afar and Miles is doing it here.

“Stay tonight,” I say, looking up at him.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

I smile back at him, hoping tonight goes well.

“Yes,” I moan as he thrusts harder.

“You feel so fucking good,” Miles says, gripping my thigh as he holds it in place.

“You always feel good,” I tell him.

Miles adjusts his hips, somehow finding a way to drive even deeper. I feel him everywhere. Like he is a part of me, and my heart is pounding.

“Look at me.” His voice is harsh through his teeth.

My eyes meet his. There is so much emotion that it takes my breath away. I see his love, his devotion, his desire and promises all in there. I open myself up, letting down every ounce of self-preservation, hoping he sees the same in my gaze.

I plan to give him everything, no more restraints, and pray it’s the right choice.

Miles slows his thrusts and glides inside me. It’s no longer sex. It’s so much more than that.

Another orgasm is building. Each thrust I get closer and closer. He feels so good, so right, and his cock hits the perfect spot each time he slides in and out.

“I love you,” I say to him as he fills me again.

His hands take mine and he lifts them above my head, entwining our fingers. “I love you, Penelope. More than I ever knew was possible.”

“I need you,” I confess .

“You have me.”

“I want you.” I continue saying what’s in my heart.

“I’m yours.”

“I can’t lose you.”

Miles stills, buried so deep inside me. “Then don’t leave me. That’s the only way you’ll ever lose me.”

A tear slides down my cheek, and then another one. It’s not sobbing. It’s just so much emotion. So much love that it has to spill out or I’ll die from it.

“I won’t,” I promise.

Miles’s mouth is on mine again, his cock filling me, and he pulls his hips back one more time; then we fall apart together.

He lies there, still throbbing inside me. “I’m not ready to leave you yet.”

I feel the same way. “I like you inside of me.”

“I like being there.”

I grin. “How about we clean up and climb back into bed, where you can hold me and we talk?”

“That sounds ominous,” he says, pushing my hair back.

“It’s not. I mean, it kind of is, but not in the way you think.”

He nods and we head into my bathroom. Miles has a toiletry bag he keeps under my sink for nights just like this. We shift around each other effortlessly, which makes me smile, and he does the same in the mirror.

Miles kisses my forehead and heads back into the bedroom while I finish up.

I grab his shirt, pulling it on and buttoning the bottom four buttons. I love to sleep in his shirt. It smells like him, the deep notes of amber from his cologne clinging to the fabric, his deodorant, and ... just ... Miles.

I inhale it as I walk over to the bed, where he’s propped up on the pillows, glasses on as he checks his phone. He puts it down as I get near, my knees hitting the mattress as I stand there.

“Do you want to lie with me?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I’d like to sit.”

“Okay.”

I climb up, crossing my legs and facing him. “I told you a small amount about my past, but I left out what I thought would be dangerous for you to know.”

“Penelope,” Miles says, stopping me, his hand reaching out to rest on my knee. “I’m not afraid of your past.”

“You should be,” I say on a whisper. “You don’t even know what you’re involved in.”

“Did you kill someone?”

“No.”

“Did you maim someone?”

I shake my head. “I wish.”

“Okay, so are you running from the cops?”

“No.”

Miles shifts closer. “Then tell me so I can better protect you.”

“If I tell you this, you have to let me say it. Don’t ask questions until I’ve somehow managed to explain it in full, okay?” He nods. I inhale deeply and force the story out. “John is really named Edward VanderGroef. We met in Chicago when I worked in the same high-rise. Edward owned a lot of different companies. He was beyond wealthy. I was working for a commercial interior design company, fresh out of college with big hopes and dreams.

“When we started dating, things were beyond my comprehension. He bought me gifts and clothes and jewels and everything. He had money that people like me only imagined. We were together for a year before things started to change. Gone was the sweet man who showered me with love and affection. He became cold and distant at times. I just figured it was something with his business.”

Miles stays quiet, but his hand moves up to find mine.

“The first night he hurt me, we were at a party. He was drunk and I made an offhand joke to one of his friends. He squeezed my upper arm so hard I bruised. The next morning, he sent me flowers and a bracelet. He swore he didn’t mean to do it, that he was drunk and didn’t know his own strength. I withdrew from him, but he was relentless in pursuing me.

“Eventually I forgave him. It continued in this pattern until he backhanded me so hard I swear I blacked out. That next day, I got all my stuff from his house and told him it was over. Only that wasn’t acceptable for Edward. That night, he threatened that if I tried to leave him, I’d see how hard that would be, because he had ties to everyone in Chicago.”

I take a breath, making sure he’s still with me. Miles keeps quiet, and I tangle my fingers with his.

“He got me fired and then broke into my apartment to slash my couch. A week later, I found out I was pregnant and I knew. I knew I couldn’t have a child with this man. He would never stop, and I couldn’t do it. I called my brother, who, as you guessed, doesn’t do what he says. He works for a security company that does things I’m not even sure about, but personal protection is one of them. He wanted me to tell Edward that I was going out of town for a friend’s wedding. To invite him, knowing he couldn’t and wouldn’t come. Edward didn’t do anything that wasn’t going to benefit him.”

I stop there, feeling the fear starting to mount. This is where the story becomes dangerous for him.

Miles nods, encouraging me to go on, but I need to give him one more chance of an out. “If I tell you this next part, it’s where I put you at risk. Do you understand?”

“Penelope, the only risk I care about is what would happen to you and Kai. I know I’m not a marine anymore, but I do have training. I know how to protect myself and others. You’re not risking my life, because there is nothing I won’t do for you. Nothing I won’t give if it means you and Kai are safe. I know the risk, and I’m sitting here, unmoving.”

The story becomes so real, I see it all like a movie.

“You can do this, Penelope. You are going to leave and protect your unborn child, who will never know the horror that is their father,” I told myself as I stood outside Edward’s office door.

It was late, dark, and I felt like I was going to be sick—again. This was a common part of my days since I found out I was pregnant, but that time, it wasn’t morning sickness.

I called my brother from the lobby.

“Did you do it?” Quinn asked.

“Not yet, I’m not sure I can. Maybe I can just leave without telling him,” I suggested, hoping Quinn changed his mind .

He didn’t.

“No, we need some time, and if he thinks you’re only gone for the weekend, it allows us to get the pieces into place. You’ve got this, Penny.”

I exhaled. My heart pounded so hard against my chest, I thought it would break a rib. “I’ll call you when it’s done.”

“I’ll be at the meeting spot. Come right here.”

I disconnected the phone and took the elevator up to the fifty-third floor. There was only a lamp on in the front room, and Edward’s office was bright. There were the sounds of three men talking. I didn’t recognize any of their voices.

“You’ll bury the body on your property,” the one man said, and I stopped exactly where I stood.

Edward huffed. “Absolutely not, Michael. I’m done hiding your fuckups. I’m not excavating a new location.”

The same man spoke again. “You forget who I am and what I can do if you refuse.”

“You forget what information I hold as well. I don’t think your voters will put you in for another term if they know you’re laundering money and responsible for the last incumbent’s death.” Edward’s voice was harsh.

I moved closer to the door, peeking in. There stood the senator I’d met at a party a few months ago, someone in all black, who definitely looked like a bodyguard, and Edward’s business partner, Anthony.

“Don’t try me, Edward.”

Edward spun around in his office chair. “Or what? You’ll kill me too? I don’t think so. I’m the one who holds the cards, and if you so much as try to fuck with me, all your secrets will come out. I’m not stupid, Michael. I keep all the information safe as insurance.”

He looked so smug, so sure that he was completely safe. I’d seen that smug superiority so many times. After he’d hit me or taunt me about what my life would be if I tried to leave. I was done being scared, though. I was ready to live on the run if it meant my child would be safe.

Anthony scoffed. “You’re such a pompous prick.”

“And you’re a fucking pussy,” Edward spat back.

Then, I saw the most infinitesimal movement from the senator. He stepped forward, and his bodyguard also moved. “You should really think twice about threatening someone.” The senator’s voice was as cold as ice.

Before I could move or blink, the bodyguard moved to the back of Edward’s chair with something in his hand. He wrapped it around his neck, pulling it tight. I watched in horror as Edward clutched at the wire wrapped around his neck. It lasted what felt like an hour, but it was really only a few seconds.

They turned and looked at Anthony. “Find the book and kill anyone who’s seen it.”

“Penny,” Miles says quickly. “My God.”

“I hid. I knew I had to or I would be dead too. I tucked myself under the front desk of his assistant, staying as small as I could. They left the room, after tearing his office apart. Edward told me that if anything happened to him, I needed to go to one place. He told me it was going to keep me safe. Even in his games, he knew that I was at risk. He explained there was a book in his office and they’d want it. Once I was sure they left, I went to the couch they’d flipped over, pulled the staples back, and took the book that was secured in the wood frame.”

“So they know you have it?” he asks.

Again, in my haste, I was stupid. There are so many things I should’ve done differently. If I had called Quinn before I left the office or when I was in there. If I had called the cops, I had the proof, but the book was ... off. It had half answers and things left out. There were first names but not last ones or vice versa. Nothing in that book could actually prove anything, and that book that he thought would protect me became a liability because I knew something . Enough that people would want to gain that information.

“They were watching the building and saw me come out with it. I called my brother as I was running out of the building, and he told me where to go. I got in my car and headed to him. Anthony and the senator must’ve assumed I was just going somewhere and they just needed to wait for the right time, but I was protected by Quinn and his friends by then.”

“What was in the book?” Miles asks, playing with my fingers.

I take the strength he offers and say the rest: “Dates, locations of bodies, money that they were laundering. But the book is flawed. The list of names are half there. The thing is, even if I gave them the book, they’d kill me. They’ve hunted me, finding me each time Quinn moves us. I hoped they’d give up after six years, but I don’t think they ever will. Until we crack what’s in that book, I’ll never be safe.”

Miles reaches forward, pulling me into his arms. I let him hold me, because I’m absolutely drained.

Miles pulls back after a while, taking my face in his hands. “Their days of coming after you are over, Penelope. I protect what I love, and I will make sure you and Kai are safe.”