Page 53 of Stains of Desire

Focus on Millie.

"I need to find my daughter."

"I gave you my word I will find her."

"How? She could be anywhere in the world." A tear falls.

He wipes it away. "Right now, we need to get moving. Everyone is splitting up. It's more dangerous to travel in groups. We need to take this one step at a time."

"It's already been too long."

He puts his hand over my heart. "Do you feel she's still alive? In here?"

More tears fall and, too choked up to answer, I nod.

"Good. Then she's alive, and I'll find her. It's time to go, and I need you to trust me."

Naomi steps in front of us. "Sorry. I just wanted to say goodbye."

I rise and hug her. Emilia stands off to the side, and they both have been crying.

"Have a safe journey," I tell her.

I hug Emilia next.

"You'll find your daughter. If I can do anything to help, I will. Hopefully, it won't take long to get wherever we are going, and I'll see you in a few days."

"Thanks." I embrace her tighter then she leaves with Malin.

Axel steps in front of me. "Penelope, do you still trust me?"

I don't need to think. I do. "Yes."

He releases a breath, rises. "Good. Let's go."

We say goodbye to the others, and Axel puts his hand on my back and leads me into the woods. "We need to stay quiet so the guys around the perimeter don't see us leaving."

"They don't know?"

"No."

He holds up tree branches and leads me deeper into the jungle. About a mile into our journey, we get to an area with a small path and follow it south. It's narrow. We walk close together. "You never answered me. Did I do something to make you uncomfortable?"

My gut flips. "I need to focus on finding my daughter."

"I thought I made it clear, no matter what happens between us, I'll get you to safety and rescue Millie."

"You did. And that's what I need to concentrate on."

He stops and crosses his arms. "You're avoiding my question."

Millie is all that matters.

I move forward, but he steps in front of me. "Don't ignore me, Penelope. Not about us."

Us. It swirls in the air and my flutters take off. I curse myself for not controlling these feelings for him.

"What do you want me to say?" I cry out.