Page 10 of Fighting for Lucy

Once she was standing she froze, again waiting for any sign that Zander was awake.

But he didn't move, and her confidence rose a smidgen.

Since the cave was barely big enough for them both to stretch out in, she had no choice but to step over Zander if she wanted to get out into the jungle and make a run for it.

As she lifted her leg, Lucy could barely breathe, her heart hammered so hard in her chest that she was surprised that alone didn't wake him. Inch by inch, she raised her leg and stretched it out, then lowered it again just as slowly on the other side of Zander.

Next, she lifted her other leg with as much caution, and many seconds later she was standing on his other side, nothing between her and the relative safety of the jungle. Well, if you left out all the animals and the cartels that notoriously owned this part of the world.

Holding her breath, she waited what had to be another five minutes, but Zander didn't stir, and he didn't move. He wasinjured, too, which was working in her favor, making him tired enough not to hear her.

Not willing to wait another second and risk something else waking the sleeping man, Lucy turned and bolted.

There was no time to waste. At any moment, Zander could wake, and the most terrifying thing of all was she had no idea how he would respond to her escape attempt.

Just because his touch had been gentle at times didn't mean he wouldn’t hurt her.

Which told her everything she needed to know about his trustworthiness. If she believed there was a chance that he might physically harm her, then she couldn’t trust him. Running was the right thing to do.

Only she’d barely made it a dozen yards before she heard footsteps behind her.

No.

A sob built inside her, but she stamped it down, and shoved every bit of speed and strength she had into putting any distance between them.

If Zander caught her now she’d never get another chance.

Her life could very well be over.

In the end, size won out like it always did. Arms wrapped around her from behind, and she was yanked off her feet.

Despite her desire to put up a strong front and hide any signs of weakness, everything caught up to her at once, and that sob she’d been trying so hard to hold in came bursting out.

January 22nd

2:49 A.M.

Damn.

She was crying.

Zander felt woefully inadequate to deal with tears.

They’d never been his strong suit with any woman other than his sister, and that was back when they were kids and all he had to do was try to cheer her up and make her laugh. Crying was pretty much forbidden in their house growing up. Unless you’d lost a limb you were expected to suck it up and deal with it without complaint. Even if you’d lost a limb, he was sure there would have been little tolerance for crying.

Sometimes at night, after their grandparents had gone to sleep, he’d sneak into his sister’s room, and they’d hide under her covers and whisper to one another about how unfair things were. Occasionally, Scarlett would weep, and he’d do whatever it took to bring a smile back to her face.

They might be twins, but in a lot of ways he’d always been more of a big brother. He’d looked out for her and protected her when and where he could. When they were sent to different foster homes, he’d made sure any other kids there knew not to mess with his sister. Same at school, if any boy showed an interest in his twin, he issued a warning of what would happen if they broke her sweet, big, kind heart.

Their personalities were night and day. Always had been. Scarlett was so sweet, loved everyone, cared for everyone, had big dreams about what her life was going to look like, and he was happy that she’d finally found what she’d been searching for all her life. Her place to belong in the world.

Unlike him, she’d always believed she would find love, happiness, and family.

The kind of family they both used to wish for on their birthdays.

But Zander had always known he was more like their parents and grandparents. He was colder, harder, and able to separate emotions and do what needed to be done.

Only right now, with this beautiful, strong, crying woman clutched against his chest, Zander had no idea how to do what needed to be done. It would be so much easier if he didn't have to interact with Lucy. If he had sedatives and could just knock her out, throw her over his shoulder, and walk out of here, and not just easier because he could walk at a much faster pace on his own.

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