Page 139 of A Captive Situation

There. Forever.

Someone knocked on my bedroom door.

My mom called through it, “Sawyer? Are you awake in there?”

We both tensed, before falling into quiet laughter.

Jake grinned at me, smoothing some of my hair behind my ear. “You should’ve been more quiet.”

I grinned back, shaking my head. “No.” Because it was perfect.

All of it was, just, perfect.

Wait. Not totally perfect.

I held a hand to his chest, stopping him from kissing me again. “One second.”

Jake lifted up, giving me space.

I rolled over and reached for my nightstand. I pulled open the drawer and grabbed the knife inside.

He had a careful measured look in his eyes as he watched me lie on my back again. “Sawyer.” His voice went low. “What are you doing with that?”

I smiled at him, letting him see all the love I had for him. He relaxed into my touch. “Told you that you wouldn’t see it coming. I’m keeping a promise to myself.” While he was busy staring into my eyes, his muscles continuing to relax, I flipped the knife around and then impaled it on his leg.

There.

A strangled cry left him before he quickly tried to muffle it. “What? Why?” He was breathing through the pain, the force of it making him lose some of his color.

I gave him a soft peck on the lips. “Payback. Stay here. I’ll grab some first aid for you. I don’t think you’ll need the hospital.” I climbed out of the bed and padded barefoot into the bathroom.

Turns out, he did need the hospital for a few stitches.

Now it was perfect.

Epilogue

Sawyer

My parents met him that morning when I brought him back from the hospital. My mom already knew him, but there’d been no bonding moments. Her glimpses were of him shooting people and yelling at us to leave. Not a super great first impression.

They’d warm to him. I knew it.

The rest of the family came over that afternoon. Clara and Bess officially met him too. Of course they’d seen him longer, but their impression was the same as my mom’s. Just more. More shooting and more yelling. Clara asked if he knew any snipers and if she could get lessons. Bess was excited to parade him through Bear Creek, specifically in front of Beck’s chiropractor clinic.

I wasn’t sure what Jake thought of them, but he only told me later, “Some families are great and supportive. They circle the wagons for each other. Some don’t. You got one that circles. I’ll love ’em for that fact alone.”

We stayed in Bear Creek, figuring out my house. I’d been staying with my parents because the thought of being in there alone ... Well. All the shooting had an effect.

I decided to put it on the market, and three weeks later, when we were in California, my Realtor called with an offer that was askingprice. I accepted, getting off the phone to let Jake know the good news. We were at a house that he’d bought a block over from his ex. It was close enough for EJ to easily come and go as he liked, which was the new arrangement between Jake and his ex-wife. It’d been touch and go at first, especially with his ex and her husband. Both feared Jake, with good reason, but EJ was coming around every so often to see his dad. He had one more year in high school before college.

I knew Jake wanted to wait and see where EJ would go for college. After that, we’d make a final decision on where we would find a permanent home. In the meantime, we went back often to visit my family, but we kept returning to California.

I was good with that arrangement. It felt like the best of both worlds.

Also, Jake’s cousin hadn’t been lying. Jake’s family was wealthy, really wealthy. Which he explained was through a trust from the oil business family members. Neither of us needed to work again, but that wasn’t who Jake was, or me. While we were going back and forth between my family and EJ, Jake started buying real estate. That began his new career. In the future, he would flip houses, then move on to flipping mansions, but some of his buildings would have renters. As for myself, I was never going to work for someone unless it was something I truly enjoyed. I just didn’t know what I wanted to do.

So I was taking my time.

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