Page 44 of Escaped
“You love me.”Stepping in closer, she glanced up with a warm smile.“That’s huge, sir.”
“Yes, it is.”
The strength of my feelings was the most amazing thing.I’d lived on my own and in my own head for so long.I’d assumed that would always be my fate.The transformation Erin had brought into my life was almost inconceivable.
“I know it’s early days, but thank you.”Her delicate hands rose and pressed gently against my shirt.“I’ve been thinking for a while now that I was falling in love with you, but what with being kidnapped and you getting shot… there never seemed to be a good time to tell you.”
“There’s now,” I suggested cheekily.“This moment is the only one that’s promised.”
Despite the contentment swelling in my heart at the sight of her, it was Baron’s face that flitted to my mind.His fate cemented my point.He might have been older than me, but he would have expected to live out the rest of his life in peace and comfort.That was until Hawkins’ goons had come calling.
“You think?”Her smile was mischievous.“Thatthisis the time to tell you?”
“I do.”
I hadn’t seen the playful version of my little girl for a while.Hawkins’ intervention had put paid to that, and inevitably, she’d been mourning for her mother ever since we’d arrived, but despite my pain and all the loss we’d suffered, I was relieved to see her return.Erin had saved me, not only back in the bunker when she’d wielded the gun, but she was still saving me right there in Owen’s kitchen.She’d resurrected a piece of my soul that I’d assumed was lost forever, and with her nurture, the essence of me was nearly whole again.
Iwas nearly whole.
“Is that an order, sir?”Her voice was quiet, presumably in an attempt for her words not to carry to where her brother was, but it didn’t matter.The moment wasn’t about him or anyone else.
It was all about us.
“Oh, yes.”I liked where she seemed to be heading.It was probably the most relaxed I’d ever seen her, her gorgeous green eyes sparkling as her fingers splayed at my torso.
In the midst of so much misery, it was easy to overlook not only how attracted to her I was, but how much I liked her.There was still so much I needed to find out about my little girl, but the small, extraneous details of her life didn’t seem so important.Not compared to what we’d already been through and survived.Not compared to what we felt for each other.
“That’s definitely an order, little girl.”
“Well, in that case…” She rose to her tiptoes, grazing her lips over my stubbled chin.“I should tell you that I love you too, sir.”
“Say it again.”I’d watched her lips convey her sentiment, but somehow, it didn’t seem real.
She couldn’t love me, could she?A self-confessed assassin with a God-complex just wasn’t lovable.
“I said, I love you.”She was more serious that time, her smile fading as she searched my face.
“Even after what I’ve told you?”
I didn’t know why I was disputing the point.I’d wanted to tell her how I felt, and there’d been little expectation she’d parrot the words back.Hearing them, though, was surreal.
“Yes.Even then.I want to know more, sir.I mean, you’ve broken the rules by telling me anyway, so you might as well share everything.”She laughed softly, and my hand fell to cover hers at my chest.
“I’ll tell you everything.”I had nothing more to lose by being guarded with her.Erin already knew enough about me to land me in serious hot water with the authorities.Vulnerability was still a new sensation to me, but being with her made me want to try to be a better man.“But not here.As soon as the plans for the funeral are made, I want to go back to Niantes and collect our things.We can talk there.”
I glanced back over my shoulder, concerned for the first time since Owen had left that he might be standing in the doorway.I didn’t care if he knew how I felt about his sister, but I couldn’t afford for anyone else to know about my murky past.Especially someone I didn’t trust.What I’d already had to infer to answer his questions was bad enough.
She nodded as I turned back.“I agree.Not here, but do you think you’re strong enough to go back to Niantes?”
“I’m getting stronger every day,” I assured her.“We have to go back, little girl.Not only is our stuff there, but there are ghosts to lay to rest, too.”
I regretted my choice of vocabulary immediately.
“Chelle, you mean?”Her brow furrowed.
“We’ll find out about her, yes, but that’s not what I meant.”Damn my poor choice of words.“I was technically in charge up there, little girl.What happened to James and Miles is on me.I have to deal with that.”
“What happened isn’t your fault,” she started.“They didn’t listen to you.”
