Page 61 of Vow to Protect
Tingles race down my arms. I angle my head toward her finger. My heart slams. The wind stills. Birds take flight. In the distance, a figure wearing a bellowing white dress plows through grains of sand with relaxed steps. A watercolour sky brightens the world around her figure. The closer she gets, the more my heartbeat takes off.
Cascading sable lengths, glowing skin kissed by the French sun and an arm resting in a sling.
The soles of my feet burrow, leaving imprints behind me. “Raen?” All the worry and pain leaves my heavy heart, making my soul weightless.
She blinks slowly and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, you must be mistaken.”
“What?” I reach out for her hand, fogged with confusion.
The woman holds out her palm like an introduction between strangers. “My name is Lucy.” Our palms unite. “Lucy De Courcy.”
I wrap my hand around hers, so fucking thankful to have her in front of me. “What a beautiful name.”
“The woman you’re looking for is dead.” Her eyes swim with a million emotions.
Familiar forest green eyes blaze with passion. I jerk her closer, unable to let go. “The woman I want is you.”
Her lips stretch wide, and she cocks her head to the side. “Why did you give me your name?” she asks.
“Why didn’t you tell me about thebigplan in Scrios? Malakai wasn’t trying to kill you; he was saving you.”
“No, Brett. You saved me. You took a chance on me. Law told me it had to be believable. Blaine had to see it for himself.”
“And what if his aim was off? What if he shot you in the heart?”
“It was a risk I was willing to take. For this.” She waves her hand towards the ocean. “For freedom, and for you.” Raen smiles sweetly as quietness falls between us. “So how come I’m a De Courcy now?”
Gathering her other hand in mine, I realise exactly what Alexander meant by spending time with family. He planned this moment with his usual proficiency and speed.
“Because you’re family. Whether you ended up staying with me in Dublin, or moving to the other side of the world, you belong to us.”
Her hand trembles. “And Lucy?”
“My heart began to heal after we met.” I shrug casually. “That sounds stupid, I know it does. I started to believe I could be with another woman. Not just anyone—with you.”
Alexander asked me in the beginning if I had any preferences for her new identity. I researched female names and found Lucy, which means giver of light, then I followed it up with my surname. It was an odd thing to do at the time. Now it makes perfect sense.
“Daddy?” Tilly trots up beside me and tugs my wrist. “Hello.” She smiles up. “Are you an angel?”
Lucy drops to her eye level. “No. I’m definitely not an angel.” Her tone is melodic, harmonising with the surrounding nature. She really is an angel.
“You must be because Daddy said you went to heaven to be with my mommy.”
Lucy peers up at me. “Did he?” She lowers her lashes again. “I understand why he thought that. I had a nasty accident and left Dublin shortly after, so I guess in his eyes, I had died. But I'm super strong. See.” She waggles her elbow. “It’s only a flesh wound and a chipped bone. No need to cart me off to heaven just yet.”
“You’re brave.” Tilly pats the triangle material that nestles Lucy’s arm across her chest.
“I must have gotten my bravery from you.” Lucy winks. “You did a magnificent job of hiding in your unicorn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one as big as that before.”
Tilly scrunches up her face. “So you don’t belong in heaven?”
“Not yet, sweetheart.” Lucy rubs the tip of Tilly’s nose with her finger.
“She belongs with us, Shortie. She’s your family.” Lucy rises tall, the wind dancing in her hair. Green eyes sparkle. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” When I stroke her wrist, the skin prickles. “I looked through all the documents and found an envelope with a date, a time, and the name of this beach.” She steps closer. “Then I saw my new name. I was torn up. I didn’t want to leave you behind. That simple note gave me hope to hold on to. It’s all I had to get me through.”
Hope is the greatest possession we have. I now know that to be true. “I won’t let you run off again,” I announce, cupping her cheeks.
“Are you going to kiss her, Daddy?”
