Page 27 of Stolen Vows

He reaches for me, but I push him away. Only a few minutes ago, I would have done anything to feel his touch on me, but now, it’s the last thing I want.

"Don’t," I warn him, but it comes out as a whisper rather than the certainty I have been trying to muster.

There is still a part of me, however foolish, that wants to sink into his arms and let him hold me as I try to make sense of this,but I can’t. I can’t let him close to me, not knowing what he believes, not knowing that he sees me in such a light. Does he think that I am a part of this? He speaks like he doesn’t, but I can’t be sure of it.

I back away from him, the heat from the fire suddenly feeling suffocating. I can’t stand to be in here another second. I can’t stand the way he is looking at me right now, almost as though he is sorry for what he has said.

I am going to find a way to make him sorry. I can’t just let an accusation like that slide. I need him to pay.

I turn my back and stalk my way towards my room once more. The freedom that he has been giving me, I don’t want it, not if it comes with those sick beliefs. I can hear him calling after me, trying to get me to come back, but I pay no attention to him. He doesn’t deserve anything from me.

I slam the door loudly behind me. I know it’s immature, but I can’t help it. I lean back against the door, and, as soon as I am alone, the tears really begin to flow down my cheeks, the weight of this pressing down on me, crushing me.

I sink down onto the floor and put my head in my hands. I can’t believe I even thought about being with him, not knowing what I know now. I can never trust him, not if he is going to spin such lies to me, to try and turn me against my father.

If they are lies at all...

I push that thought aside. I know my father might have been involved in some illegal things, but it’s nothing like that. He never would. He’s ruthless. He gets what he wants. But that doesn’t mean he’s evil. That doesn’t mean that my family is evil.

I am distantly aware of the tears running down my face. Mercifully, Max seems to have realized that I need my space right now, and he has given up on trying to speak to me—not that I would have had anything to say to him anyway. Not after that.

I don’t know where all of this leaves me. I’m sure that my father is still on the way, still trying to break me out of here. But is he doing it because he wants me back, or is he doing it because he’s terrified that I might find something out about him that he won’t be able to hide from me any longer?

My head a mess, I close my eyes and pray that something will come along to make sense of all of this. I can’t tell if Max is lying to me, trying to turn me against my family, or if he is speaking the truth.

But I have the horrible feeling that, one way or another, I will know before my time here is up.

13

Max

"How far out are they now?”

"A half-hour," Maya replies, her voice taut. "You sure this is a good idea?"

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. She’s got every reason to be worried. Sending someone down to the cabin could open us up to the people who have been following us, and I am distinctly aware of that. But we can’t get by much longer on what we have here, and I need to stock up our supplies and touch base.

And, more than that, I need to get someone else in this place to cut the tension that has been filling it like heavy smoke since the revelation a few days before. When I told Cara about her father, what his business actually is and the people it involves, I could tell that I had made a mistake. She doesn’t believe me, refuses to. I’ve brought food for her every day since, and she has snatched the plate out of my hand without another word, hardly so much as making eye contact with me.

"Yeah, I’m sure," I reply.

"What’s going on?”

Maya’s blunt tone cuts through the bullshit in my mind. She might be the youngest of the three of us siblings, but she’s the most intuitive, always picking up on whatever is going on inside my head.

"Nothing."

"Yes, there is," she shoots back. "Tell me. Or I’ll come there myself and find out."

I smirk slightly. I wouldn’t put it past her. Maya’s a fiery girl, and she’s willing to say exactly what’s on her mind.

"It’s fine," I reply. "Just been out here by myself for too long. Looking forward to seeing Max and Veronica, that’s all."

"Yeah, I don’t know how long I would be able to put up with that princess," Maya sighs, and I can almost picture the way she would toss her hair over her shoulder when she says it. She might not like to admit it, but I get the feeling she’s more similar to Cara than she’d like to admit.

"I’ll speak with you soon," I promise her. "I don’t want to stay on the line too long."

"Good call," she replies. "You need anything, you know where to find us, right?”

---