Page 24

Cara

As I rush through the woods, the branches tearing at my skin and the smell of the earth hot in my nostrils, all I want in the world is to turn back and run into Max’s arms once more.

It’s a far cry from my last escape attempt, when I put so much space between us—when all I wanted was to get away from the cabin, away from him, back to my real life, no matter what it might have demanded from me.

Back before I knew everything that my father has done, back before I understood the extent of the man he is, back before. ..

Back before my innocence was shattered and I had to face up to the fact that my family fortune is built on the back of the abuse and exploitation of Veronica and people just like her.

I stumble slightly, the adrenaline spiking in my system as I struggle to find my footing once more.

I just need to make it back to the road, that’s all that matters.

With my father’s men aware of my general location, I know that they will be patrolling the area around the cabin, watching for any sign of me.

They came close enough before, when they nearly intercepted Veronica and Max, but this time, I am trying to lure them out of hiding, trying to make it so that they see me.

I glance back towards the cabin, but it’s long vanished into the woods now.

I can feel the thread between Max and me pulled taut, close to snapping.

Though he told me that he would not have let me do this if he wasn’t certain I could handle it, I am not sure I have the same sureness in myself.

That is weighing heavy on me as I kick our plan into action.

I can hear the roar of engines in the distance.

There's no way they can belong to anyone other than my father’s men, likely trying to parse a way through the woods that won’t end in the same bloodshed as the last time.

I am surprised they’ve even given us a day to figure out a plan, but given how Veronica and Max dispatched of the last threat, perhaps they’re trying to come up with something a little less easily thwarted.

I scramble over the soft earth of the edge of the river that runs through the forest, trying not to let my feet sink into the mud.

The river is just a few hundred yards from the edge of the woods; that’s what the map showed me.

I couldn’t bring it with me, because it would have been too obvious that I was in on whatever they were planning if I turned up with directions.

I just have to hope that I have not managed to somehow double back on myself and make a mess of this.

But then, I see a crack of sunlight tracing through the trees, and my heart leaps. I have made it. I’m nearly there, nearly back to my father.

And then, all at once, my footsteps falter as it clicks into place where I am running to.

Back to him—back to my dad, the man who is responsible for all of this, the monster who was willing to sell me off just like the dozens if not hundreds of other women he has done this to before.

Suddenly, the thought of being alone with him terrifies me.

He will be able to see right through me; he will be able to tell what I am thinking.

I have never been good at keeping my thoughts off my face, and even now, I can feel my skin prickling at the mere notion of looking into his eyes and having to pretend for a moment that I?—

"Fuck! It’s her!”

A voice cuts through the rush of thoughts in my mind, and I look up, realizing that I am closer to the edge of the woods than I thought.

Sure enough, a man is standing in between a few of the trees, outlined against the near-blinding sunlight.

I raise my hand to block the brightness piercing my eyes, but he is already racing towards me, and I can hear other footsteps traversing the forest to close the distance between us.

I know that they are here to rescue me—at least, that’s what they think—but in that instant, I feel like an animal about to be returned to the cage, a circus lion to be put on display all over again.

I inhale deeply before they reach me. I have been practicing what I am going to say since I left the house, and I will not flub my lines now. As soon as the first man reaches my side, he goes to grab my arm, and I wrench it free.

"Get off of me!” I scream, loud enough that I send a few birds fluttering from the trees around me in a panic.

"Cara, your father?—"

"I want to see my dad," I demand, as I stare up at the men around me.

"He’s waiting nearby in a hotel for you," one of them tells me, his voice laced with some irritation.

I guess that they have been out here for a long time, and the moment they set eyes on me, they thought all of this would be over—only for me to dig my heels in and make it even more difficult than it already has been. I shake my head, pressing my lips together into a pointed pout.

"I don’t know who I can trust," I shriek, feigning terror. "I’m not going anywhere with anyone other than him. You might be kidnappers too! If you really work for him, tell him to come to me himself..."

There is a muttering of conversation amongst the men as they try to figure out how to handle this.

They know as well as I do that my father will not take kindly to being dragged away from his work, but I don’t give a damn.

The only thing I care about right now, the only thing I can care about, is seeing this plan through.

One of them grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet. I might not like it, but I have to play along, at least for now.

"Please, tell him to be quick," I beg them, putting as much of a quiver in my voice as I can. "Those people, the man who took me, they could come back at any time?—"

"Don’t worry," one of the men tells me gruffly. "You’re safe now."

I bite back a snarl of disagreement, wondering, for a moment, if this man has any idea of everything that my father has been doing.

It’s hard to believe that anyone could be ignorant to it.

I might have looked the other way for a long time, but that’s only because I didn’t know.

I was living in a state of complete ignorance.

And even recently I could barely wrap my head around the thought that my father could do something so evil.

These men, do they really think that I am safe here? That my father will not make use of me the way he has made use of so many women over the course of his life to get what he wants...?

They lead me from the forest, and I make sure to throw in a pointed stagger to my walk, hoping to sell the idea that I am weak or injured, that I have only just barely made it out of captivity alive.

It’s not hard to bring the tears to my eyes, knowing what I am about to do.

After everything that has happened, all that has changed within me, it’s hard to even remember the innocent girl I was before all of this happened.

"Here, if you just?—"

One of the men tries to push me into his car, the door propped open so I can get in, but I brace my hands on either side of it and let out a cry of protest.

"I told you, I’m not going anywhere until I see my father!” I argue, my voice shrill. "I don’t know who I can trust, and he’s the only person I am certain of. Bring him here! I won’t leave until you do!”

There is another mutter of frustration around the half-dozen or so men who have been patrolling the roads, but finally, one of them gets on the phone and calls my father.

I have no idea how long I will have to wait to see him once more, but I am going to need all the time I can get to muster up readiness for what is waiting for me on the other side.

I lean against one of the sleek black cars parked along the side of the road.

The sun is beating down on me, warming the metal I am leaning against, though I am hardly aware of it.

My eyes are fixed on the road on either side of me, waiting for his car to roll up, waiting to see him again.

Wondering how it will feel to look into his eyes and know the kind of man he is.

How it will feel to see him without the lies he has tried to drape over himself to keep my opinion of him sweet.

Finally, I hear the rumble of an engine in the distance, and my ears perk up, my shoulders tensing. My stomach churns, but I plaster a smile on my face, as though I am nothing more than a devoted daughter relieved to finally see her father once more.

His car pulls up just beside me, a dark vehicle with blacked out windows that I know are bulletproof. A sourness stirs in my stomach, as I try not to think about how he made the money for it. He throws open the door and climbs out, his face like thunder as he strides towards me.

"Finally," he mutters, as he grabs me and pulls me into a hug. It doesn’t feel warm or paternal, though.

Not now, not after everything I have learned.

His arms feel like shackles around me, like cuffs clicking shut around my wrists.

I force myself to hug him back, praying that my disgust translates to relief in his mind.

"Oh, I’m so glad" I sigh. "You came, you really came..."

Even as I speak, I wonder if I am laying it on too thick, but when he pulls back, his face has softened slightly, and I know it is working.

"How did you get away from them?" he demands, and I shake my head.

"I don’t remember much," I lie quickly. "It’s all a blur. One moment, I was locked in my room, and the next, I was in the forest... I didn’t know where to go, so I just ran..."

"Thank God you did," he mutters, as he puts an arm around my shoulders and steers me towards the car he just came from. "God knows what they would have done to you if you had been there any longer..."

I have to bite my tongue to keep from calling him out on his disgusting hypocrisy. What would they have done, when he’s the one who was willing to sell my hand in marriage to a man twice my age who just wanted me for my body? I force myself to contain it.