Page 106 of Wicked Minds
My scoff cuts him off. “It’s nothing,” I counter. “Read them again, except imagine it’s a heartsick father writing to his daughter.”
Logan’s brows bunch before his eyes drop to the open card in front of him. I don’t recall precisely what that one says, but I can recite them from memory. “Even though Daddy is far away, he’s always thinking of you. Hope you were good without me this year. You may be growing up, but you’ll always be my little girl...Weknow the implication behind his words, yet to anyone else, it’s a father missing his daughter.”
“Step-daughter,” Logan bites out.
“Semantics.”
“Well, maybe we could show this to Grayson,” he suggests instead. “It might?—”
“No.” My sharp tone cuts him off.
“Rather than telling him about Aurora, this could?—”
“It won’t!” I’m practically yelling, and my arms tighten around my knees as I force myself to take a calming breath. “It won’t change anything for Grayson,” I reiterate. “It won’t be enough for him.” I know it won’t, and truthfully, Logan knows it too. That’s why he doesn’t argue any further. “What does it matter anyway?” I ask hopelessly. “It doesn’t matter if Grayson believes me or not. A fate far worse is coming, and Grayson is the least of my concerns.”
“Is this why you said yesterday that he isn’t going to just let you go?” Royce queries, asking his first question since walking in with the envelope.
My nose stings with the threat of bitter tears, and I lift my face to the ceiling, swallowing them back and allowing myself to sink into the icy-cold tendrils of a reality I haven’t ever allowed myself to accept. One I kept telling myself I’d find a solution for before time ran out—except the clock is ticking down now, and I’m no longer running out of time. I’m out. There are no more seconds left to spare.
Clawing deep for a resolve that feels like wisps of smoke between my fingers, I clutch a hold of it and wrench it up, wrapping it around me like armor. It’s all I have as I lift my face to meet Royce’s. “He’s going to come for me, and when he does, I need to be far away from here.”
I shut down any further conversation after that, telling the guys that I needed to get ready for classes, which sparked a whole new argument—one where they felt I should stay home and ‘rest’ and where I told them I would only drive myself more insane if I did that.
Thankfully, they seemed to realize that I had been pushed close enough to my breaking point and was likely to go on a homicidal rampage if pushed much further. Dropping the conversation, we each got ready in silence, before Logan drove us to campus.
They were both reluctant to leave me alone, but after promising them I wouldn’t do anything stupid, they resigned themselves to the fact that they had classes to get to, and so did I.
My entire morning has passed in one hazy blur. I don’t take in a single word any of my professors say, since my mind is too focused on where I go from here. I meant what I said this morning. I’ve been mulling it over all night and can’t see any other way.
I need to get Aurora, and we need to run.
During my Written Communication and Information Literacy class, I pull my head out of the fog long enough to write down the date of Bertram’s release. Ninety days. I have less than ninety days to pull together enough cash and resources to tide us over, then grab Aurora before we disappear into oblivion. I don’t know what sort of resources Bertram will have. How far he’ll go to search for me, only what else can I do? I have to try.
Flipping to a new page, I write down everything we’d need. Clothes. Toiletries. Food. Toys.
My hand shakes the longer the list grows. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. I came here to better my future, but I won’t risk it all for a piece of embossed paper. Ultimately, I came here to get Aurora back, so I’ll readily run from his town if it keeps her safe.
I’m still lost in my head, going over my plan, tweaking parts and fine-tuning it when my morning classes let out, and I don’t even notice Logan waiting for me until he steps directly into my path.
“Shortcake,” he purrs, hands coming up to latch onto my arms before I crash into him. Blinking out of my stupor, I stare up at him, noting the worry hidden behind his coy smile.
“Logan.” I glance around, taking in my surroundings for the first time. “What are you doing here?”
“Escorting you to lunch, obviously.”
“Logan.” I’m already shaking my head, attempting to pull out of his grip even as he tightens his hold on my upper arms. “I’m not in the mood to face the food court today.”
His smile only widens. “Good thing I have Royce grabbing food for us then. We figured somewhere quieter would be better today.” He’s already directing me down the steps of the Hennessy building and across the quad, away from the food court.
“Where are we going?”
He winks down at me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his warmth, utterly oblivious to how it seeps through my frigid skin, melting the ice that had been steadily hardening in my veins since yesterday. “Back to where it all began.”
My head is in too much of a mess to piece together his cryptic reply, and instead, I let him lead me across campus until the library comes into view.
“Logan, we can’t eat in here,” I argue as we draw closer. “There’s no food allowed inside the library.”
He snickers, only continuing to urge me forward. “I’m sure Royce will find a way to sneak it in.”
