Page 28 of Take Me to Church
Like Lydia, I shove my way past them, stalking into the warehouse where Tate is standing with Cody, looking over the car we now have to dismantle.
I glance around as I cross the large space. “Where did Lydia go?”
Tate turns, brows going up as he shakes his head. “I haven’t seen her.”
“She just walked out of the office five seconds ago. How have you not seen her?” I turn back to where Damien and Levi stand in the doorway of the office. Levi shrugs and Damien just keeps fucking grinning at me.
“God dammit.” I take off for the closest exit, pushing my way out into the evening air. To my relief, Lydia stands on the other side of the chain-link fence surrounding the property, staring at her phone.
An unfamiliar car turns onto the street and I race for the fencing, scaling it instead of wasting time going for the gate. She yelps as I drop down beside her, jumping back with wide eyes as the car pulls to a stop. “What are you doing?”
I haul her against me, using my body to block hers from whoever is inside that car. “What am I doing? What the fuck are you doing?”
Lydia pushes at me, wiggling loose of my grip. “I’m going home. I called an Uber.”
I’m used to dealing with my brother’s wives. Women who are more than happy to scream in your face and don’t give a shit what you think of them. Women who will straight up tell you they’re going to be a pain in the ass. And right now, I wish Lydia was a little more like them because it would be a hell of a lot easier to keep her safe.
“Cancel it. You’re not going home.” I grab her phone, closing out the Uber app before shoving it in my pocket and turning to the car idling beside us. I yank open the door, making the man behind the wheel jump. “She changed her mind. She doesn’t need a ride.”
To his credit, the terrified man doesn’t pull away. He slowly points to Lydia. “She’s gotta be the one to tell me that.”
I grit my teeth even though I appreciate what he’s doing. I take a step back, holding my hands out. “The choice is yours.”
It’s not, but right now she needs to think it is. She can leave in that car, but I will follow her.
Lydia glances at the open door, and for a second I think she’s going to get in. But then her eyes meet mine. “If I’m not going to my apartment then where am I going?”
She’s too damn smart for my own good.
I keep my eyes on hers as I offer up the option I hope she picks voluntarily. I’m not looking forward to her reaction if I have to take drastic measures. “Home with me.”
11
LYDIA
I STUDY CHRISTIAN as I weigh my options, but somehow I’m not so sure they actually exist. “Do I really get a choice?”
Christian’s expression is intense and unwavering. “Don’t make me answer that.”
I know I should be bothered by all of this, and I am. Just probably not in the way most people would be.
I know what it’s like to finally be free from people who want to control you. Oppress you. My sister deserves that and I love her enough I’m willing to do anything to give it to her. Did I expect anything would include participating in a murder?
I wish I could say no, but from the very beginning I’ve prepared myself for the possibility someone might not make it out of this alive. Of course, I always expected that someone would be her husband, but Rodney didn’t rank much higher on my ‘worthy of continuing to breathe’ chart than Matthias, so I’m struggling to feel too terrible about what happened. Especially since I’m sure he wouldn’t have felt too terrible about what he was planning to do to me.
“Fine.” I turn to the driver and give him a smile. “I’m going to stay. I’m really sorry.”
Christian steps in beside me, flicking a one-hundred-dollar bill onto the seat. “Don’t feel too sorry.”
The driver snatches the money up like he expects Christian to take it back. “I’ll hang out in the area for a little bit in case you change your mind.”
Christian huffs out a loud sigh, like he’s bothered that this guy is still trying to look out for me. He digs back into his wallet and pulls another hundred free, dropping it in the same spot he did the first before turning toward the building. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”
I hold my breath, waiting to see if he’ll climb back over the fence, but he goes to the gate, looking slightly more civilized as he gets it open and holds it, waiting for me to go in.
And I’m more than a little disappointed I don’t get to watch him scale the staggering height. I missed it last time and I wouldn’t mind the opportunity to witness him racing to get to my side firsthand. Just to add a little more ammunition to my fantasy-based Christian arsenal.
Which now includes his willingness to doanythingto keep me safe, a development that does tricky things to me. Things that make me ache in ways I’ve been too scared to explore on my own.
