Page 45 of Mountain Refuge

“And yet…”

“And yet,” he mimicked. We were both silent for a moment. Elijah reached for my hand. I gave it. “Brooke, I can’t promise to be upfront about everything. Believe me when I tell you it’s an even longer and more gruesome story than yours. That was not a comparison,” he added quickly. “Just a statement. I’ll tell you what I can and I swear I’ll never lie to you—unless it’s to save you or my children’s lives.

“My kids come first and, the more people who know my story, the more chances that the wrong person will eventually hear about it too. I’m not saying that I think you’ll tell anyone, but my silence is to protect you too.”

“Protect me from what?” I asked. “You keep talking about protecting me, but I don’t understand from whom. How would the person chasing you even know about me?”

Elijah sat back in his chair. He ran a hand down his face. I could tell he was working the nerve up to say something, so I remained quiet.

“There are warrants out for my arrest.”

My heart nearly stopped. I ripped my hand out of his. “What?” I recalled asking Elijah if he was a criminal, and he had assured me that he wasn’t—but something had felt off about that response. I’d brushed it off at the time. I wasn’t going to now. “For what?”

Elijah swallowed hard. “Murder and kidnapping.”

Well. Fuck. Suddenly I recalled Elijah telling me that Lucas’s mother had died in childbirth. What if…? Oh God. What if Elijah hadkilledher?

Then I paused in my hysterical rantings.

Elijah wasn’t a murderer. He didn’t have an evil bone in his body. IknewElijah. We might not have talked as much as Iwould have liked while he was staying in my cabin, but Iknewhim. I’d watched him. A lot. He was so warm and loving to his children. He was sweet and kind.

That couldn’t have all been an act. Could it?

My insecurities, a parting gift from Tyler, crept forward. I clearly wasn’t a good judge of character like I’d always thought I was. I’d trusted Tyler and look where it got me. I’d quit my job as a detective because I didn’t trust my instincts anymore. Tyler’s betrayal had left me questioningeverythingI thought I knew about myself.

“I need you to explain that statement. Right now.”

“I didn’t kill anyone, I swear. Brooke, I’ve never even held a gun before in my life. I heard something I shouldn’t have, and my employer was blackmailing me to stay silent with a gun he put my fingerprints on. When I ran, he turned the gun over to the police. The police believe I killed the man who died by that gun, but I swear I didn’t. I’m innocent.”

Tyler had claimed to be innocent too—before he realized how much evidence I really had against him.

Was Elijah being framed? Didn’t every murderer claim he was being framed?

“Who are you accused of murdering?”

Elijah shook his head. “Jack told me the name, but I didn’t recognize it. I’m assuming it’s a business associate of my employer’s, but I don’t know who he is.” He looked me straight in the eyes. “Brooke, I am not a murderer.”

Even in the low lighting of the fire, I could see him clearly. He looked sincere. I wanted to believe him. I really did.

“Jack can verify all this?”

Elijah nodded. “He can. He’s been helping the kids and I since the beginning.”

I recalled that from his stay in my cabin. Jack was the ‘friend of a friend’ who’d been helping them out. I trusted Jack, andfrom the little of what I knew about Jack’s history, I knew he would not blindly trust Elijah. Should that mean I could trust Elijah too? I wanted to.

“Do you understand now why I stayed away? I don’t want you tangled up in this. If I’m caught, I don’t want you in trouble for harboring a fugitive or obstructing justice.”

It did make sense now. The longing in his eyes, yet always pulling himself away. I got it, but if he was innocent… There had to be a way we could clear his name.

Then I remembered the second charge he’d said he was wanted for. “You kidnapped your own children?”

Elijah shook his head. “They are mine in all ways, except biological.”

“Holy shit, Elijah!” My voice echoed through the trees. I stood up in shock. He might not be a murderer, but hewasa kidnapper. “You mean, they’re… They’re not… Fuck!”

Elijah stood too. He frantically launched into his explanation. “I need you to understand. Ihadto get them out. They have an older brother in his twenties. He helped us to escape. That place, that man…” In the firelight, I saw Elijah’s complexion take on a greenish hue. “Brooke, their birth father tried tosellBelle to a man in his thirties to seal a business deal.”

My stomach rolled at the implication. He had to have been mistaken. My time on the force had proven there were some sick fucks out there, but still… “That’s disgusting. Why would you ever think that?”

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