Page 117 of Stay With Me
“Take him out of here along with all the others, but leave this one,” Hunt says and points to the woman who spoke up.
Matthew is dragged away, screaming the whole way while the rest of the group remains silent.
“What do you mean you don’t know where she is? What’s your name?” I ask as I slowly approach the woman.
She tucks a strand of dirty blond hair behind her ear. “I’m Aspen. I left the window unlocked in the room she was being kept in so that she could hopefully get away. We were looking for her in the woods when you guys got here.”
“Aspen, it’s nice to meet you. I know Luna and Jess will be so excited to see you again,” I say as Hunt gives out orders to search the woods.
Aspen smiles softly. “I can’t wait to see them either.”
Now that I’m closer to her, I see that she’s covered in cuts and bruises.
I pull out my radio and call for Luke and Sam to come this way to look her over.
Once they arrive, I look at Aspen and say, “I’m going to go look for Luna. My two friends here will look you over to make sureyou’re okay. They’ll take you to the ambulance to keep you warm and out of the rain. You can trust them.”
She eyes them nervously and then looks back at me. “Does Luna trust them?”
I nod. “Both her and Jess. I’m sure if you ask Sam, he’ll talk about how he thinks he’s her favorite uncle.”
“Iamher favorite uncle,” he says with a smile.
“You wish. She loves Am’s farm more than you, so that makes me the favorite uncle.” Luke counters.
Aspen’s eyes go wide and bounce between the two men bantering back and forth before they slip into work mode and start asking her questions. They wrap a thermal blanket around her and guide her out of the forest.
Turning back to Hunt, I wipe the rain out of my eyes. “Alright, let’s search the woods for my woman.”
He gives me a sharp nod, and we walk straight ahead and start calling out for her, hoping she isn’t far because as the sun goes down, the temps will drop much faster.
FIFTY-THREE
Luna
Myjawhurtsfromclenching it as I fight to keep my teeth from chattering. I try to look toward my feet to see if I can see the sun anymore and gauge how long I have been hiding here.
I hear Matthew and some women yelling my name off in the distance.
Shivers start to rack my body as the temperature drops and the rain picks up. A twig snaps closer than I want, and I hold my breath, willing my body to still.
“We need to find her. The wedding must take place tonight as the end is near. The rain will slow her down,” Matthew snaps.
“Yes, Father,” a woman whose voice I don’t recognize says.
Their footsteps get farther away, and I let my breath out.
I’m itchy all over, and my eyes begin to get heavy.
I fight to keep them open.
If I freeze out here, I think about the things I’ll never be able to do, like watch Jess grow up. Or tell Noah how much I love him and that I’m sorry I insisted on being the one to go to the truck. To make sure he knows it isn’t his fault that I’m in this position.He’ll blame himself. I know he will. I should have listened to Ann and just told him my feelings when I had the chance.
Anger boils through me as I think about everything The Family has taken from me, and I don’t want them to take this from me too. I can’t let them.
I’m just so tired.
And so cold.
