Page 86 of The Thief
It was quieter up here. More homely, if you could ever call an old asylum that. I imagined the others, his brothers, were behind the closed doors we passed as we made our way to the living room. So, I stepped quietly down the wooden hallway, not wanting to wake anyone. I knew I’d be meeting them, but I wasn’t ready now, not after what we’d done.
Tyler stopped and opened the door, then stood back to let me go first into the living area. I stepped in, glancing around atthe sofa, wide-screen TV, and kitchen. It was like an apartment in here, and I turned to watch him walk in after me.
And that’s when I saw it.
A wall with a huge board, and on that board were the numbers one to five, with the names and details of every one of the gang members who’d been involved in the bank robbery.
“What’s that?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
I moved closer to it, noticing the crosses through numbers two, four and five. I turned slowly to stare at Tyler, who was now standing in the middle of the room, regarding me with apprehension.
His gaze dropped to the floor, and I wasn’t sure he was going to say anything, but eventually, he lifted his head, regret shining in his eyes as he said, “I didn’t want you to see that. I forgot it was there.” Then he threw his head back, said, “Fuck,” and ran his hands over his face. “I mean, I knew it was there, but I just didn’t think.”
I glanced back at the board, my heart in my mouth as I asked, “Are you the reason there’s a cross through numbers four and five? Did you find them?”
Quietly, behind me, he sighed and said, “Yes.”
I didn’t know how to respond.
I knew Tyler had a dark side. I always thought I was okay with that. But maybe I was burying my head in the sand.
“What if you get arrested? Do the police know? Have they found them?”
“Not yet.”
I sensed him moving closer to me, but I stayed still, staring at the board, not sure I could look at him yet. If I did, my fears about what could happen to him might break me.
“But they will.” I swallowed, closing my eyes for a second, hoping he’d tell me it wasn’t him. He wasn’t there. They’d have nothing on him. It was the other soldiers, exacting revenge on his behalf.
But he didn’t.
“They won’t,” he rasped quietly, then with a sigh, he added, “Jess, I did what I had to do. What needed to be done. They couldn’t get away with what happened to you... and the other hostages. But I promise you, they won’t find anything that comes back on me. No DNA, no evidence, nothing.”
I spun around to face him as he stood inches away from me.
“You don’t know that,” I hissed. “Someone could’ve seen you. Something might’ve gone wrong.”
“Nothing went wrong.” He reached for me, trying to hold me, but I didn’t melt into him like I usually did. My body had gone numb, frozen to the spot.
“I can’t lose you.” I shook my head, holding my tears at bay. “I can’t go through that. I won’t.”
“You won’t lose me,” he replied, wrapping his arms around me. “I won’t ever let that happen. I promised you before, you’re safe with me, and I meant it. I’d never do anything to jeopardise that.”
I lifted my arms to hold him back, burying my head in the warmth of his chest.
“You can never say never.” I sniffed as a rogue tear soaked into the fabric of his shirt. “I don’t want to know what you’ve done, Tyler. My imagination is probably a PG version of the truth. But please, leave the others. One and Three aren’t crossed out. Let the police deal with them. Don’t put yourself in the firing line. It’s not worth it.”
“I’m gonna haveto disagree with you,” he said in a solemn tone, tightening his hold like he thought I might flee at any minute. “I think it is worth it. Getting justice for you and Ava will always be worth it to me.”
“Not to us.” I leaned back in his embrace, peering up at him, feeling like my heart was breaking as I said, “I think... I’m worried... I...”
“Spit it out, Jess,” he said, his jaw clenching as he stared down at me.
“We live in different worlds,” I blurted out. I couldn’t look him in the eye as I spoke, so I focused on the buttons of his shirt. “And I’m not sure I’d survive in yours. I’ve got Ava to think of, and...” I hated that I was feeling like this. I could still sense the ghost of him inside me, after a night of passion like nothing I’d ever experienced before, and yet, here I was, my heart breaking at the thought that this might not work.
He held my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted my head back gently, so I was looking at him.
“If my world is one you wouldn’t survive, then I’d burn it to the fucking ground. Honestly, I would. You are all that matters to me, Jess. You and Ava. I’d burn this world and everything in it and rebuild a new one, just for you.” He pressed his forehead to mine and melted my heart with his next words. “There’s something you need to understand. The day I walked into that bank and saw you both, you became my world. Not this. None of this matters. It’s all about you.Youare my world, Jess.”
