Page 60 of WITSEC

I could break down right now. I really could. Or I could stay strong and get my family somewhere safe. “We can’t stay here.”

“No. I’m going to send agents to come and get you. Can you find somewhere safe until then?”

“There’s a hotel in town,” I said.

“Which town and hotel?” he asked.

I told him.

“If it will make you feel any better, your friend is going to be okay,” he said.

“Which friend?”

“Isabelle. She’s still in the hospital but she’s no longer in critical condition. Doctors say with a little bit of physical therapy, she’ll make a full recovery.”

I stared up at the ceiling as tears flooded my eyes. It took a tremendous effort to keep myself composed. “Thank you for telling me that.”

“Be safe, kid.” He hung up after that.

I knew I couldn’t just sit there. It was just really hard to move. Isabelle was alive. I was so unbelievably happy about that, but the news of Logan was tearing me apart.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “Okay.” I repeated the process of breathing like that again before I nodded and forced myself to stand.

As soon as I started to head out of my room to go tell the guys, that phone Sheriff McAllister had given to me started vibrating in the pocket of my sweatshirt. I pulled it out and the screen readX.

I swallowed as I hit the green button to answer it and then brought it to my ear. “Hello?”

Mr. X’s haunting voice filled my ear through the phone. “Hello, my Shiloh.”

I was in no rush after my call with Mr. X, and at the same time, I was. Walking into the living room where the guys were waiting for me, I kept my hands in my sweatshirt pockets because I couldn’t stop fisting them. I took a seat next to Creed on the couch. “I got ahold of Ian.” After announcing that, I explained everything that Ian had told me. As I spoke, I noticed Keelan had changed his pants. I had given Knox supplies to help bandage him up while I’d made my calls.

“So we need to leave?” Knox asked.

I nodded.

“What about the bodies outside?” Creed asked.

“Ian will take care of it.” I hoped.

The four of them started to get up to go collect what they would need to leave. I grabbed Creed’s wrist before he could walk away. He eyed my hand on his wrist and sat back down.

I waited for the other three to leave the room before I turned my body to face him. I took his hands in mine. “I love you so much.”

He frowned. “I’m going to be okay.”

He thought I was telling him I loved him because of what had happened earlier with the sheriff’s men. That was all right.

“I wanted to be a chef, to be a wife and a mother. I wanted those things, but when Mr. X took my family away, I made myself stop wanting those things because I thought if I didn’t want them, I couldn’t be disappointed for not getting them.” I stared down at our hands, and I squeezed his. “On Halloween, when I was dancing and having so much fun with Isabelle, I let myself envision a future. I let myself want more.”

He was still frowning. “And what do you want?”

“I want what I wanted before, and I want it with the four of you. I want to spend the rest of my life placing bets with you and Colt, I want to spar with Keelan, and I want to rebel against Knox. He may act like he doesn’t like it, but we all know that he enjoys it.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Creed’s mouth. “He loves that you won’t back down and that you’re not afraid to push back.”

I returned his small smile with my own. It was a little forced, but I managed to give him one. “I want family meals, to celebrate birthdays, and to wake up every morning next to one of you. I want to laugh with you and fight with you and love you until I’m old. And one day,manyyears from now, I want babies who have beautiful blond hair and either aquamarine or golden-brown eyes. I want all of that. Desperately.”

His eyes searched mine. “Not that I’m not happy to hear all of that. I am. I want those things with you, too, but why are you telling me this?”