Page 52 of Auctioned to the Lumberjacks (Auctioned)

Jerking the curtains shut, I return to take my place next to Jack. We've been a team for as long as we've known each other through whatever has come our way. It'll always be like that. He lowers his chin in acknowledgment and then closes his eyes. I hope he can rest a little easier knowing I'm by his side.

Despite the thoughts that linger in every corner of my mind and a creeping sense of dread, increasing waves of exhaustion take over my body, pulling me into an ocean of vivid dreams of past times that can never be resurrected. Of another little girl out there in the world who’ll never be found.

19

SKYE

A WING AND A PRAYER

Everybody in my life has let me down at some point. My parents cut me off when I made choices they disagreed with. My friends drifted away when Carter became a controlling presence in my life. Carter pretended to be one person, then morphed into another when I was at my most vulnerable. Shona, who I thought was my friend, was quick to fill the space I left in Carter’s bed and in my daughter’s life.

There isn’t a person in the world who’s proven themselves to be loyal.

Yet three men are risking everything for me, and I don’t understand why.

I should be nothing to them.

They bought me at an auction, like a car or a piece of furniture. A convenience to make their lives easier. But they keep me between them like they’re a security detail protecting a head of state. They hold me while I cry and rest with me during my fitful hours of sleep. They secretly make plans to help find Hallie and put the two halves of my heart back together.

It’s terrifying because I promised I wouldn’t let anyone in again. It was the only way I could force myself into this year-long arrangement. Trusting takes too much strength, and I’m weak.

So fucking weak.

But they’re strong.

West is like a block of granite. There’s nothing that can break his resolve. Finn is a trunk of hardwood. The sun, the wind, and the rain don’t penetrate. Jack is a black diamond, hard enough to etch steel and too dark to see to the heart of.

Next to them, I feel as vulnerable as a baby mouse, reliant on them for food and warmth, close to getting consumed by a predator at any second.

“Don’t worry. Everything’s under control,” West tells me as he watches me dress. His eyes on me aren’t sexual. They’re concerned. I’m thinner, and it makes me look breakable.

Even last night, when I wrapped myself around him, feeling needy and wanting him to make me forget, he whispered that I needed sleep, and held himself back with restraint I didn’t know he possessed.

West has his rifle in his hand, but it doesn’t bother me. That’s how sure I am that none of them will ever hurt me.

They’ve chosen to go into battle for me and my child, who they’ve never met.

They’ll fight my enemy and reclaim what’s mine, and all I can do is hope, pray, and wait.

It’s the waiting that’s killing me slowly, piece by pathetic piece.

I focus on West’s rugged face; his chiseled cheekbones, and the lines etched around his intense, dark eyes give him an air of maturity that inspires a sense of trust.

“I’ve never held a gun before,” I say, eyeing the small pistol that rests on my bed.

“All you need to do is point and shoot.” Easy for him to say.

I rub between my brows, trying to erase the tension that’s bunching every muscle in my body.

West, seeing my anxiety, softens. “All we need you to do is ensure Shona doesn’t blow this whole thing.Thatwill guarantee she doesn’t open her mouth at the wrong time.” His eyes focus on my fingers that rest against the cool metal and then wrap around the handle, testing its weight again.

“This is going to work?” It’s half statement, half question. I trust them, but I need to know they believe in themselves.

“There is never just one route out of a difficult situation, Skye. If it doesn’t work, we move on to a different plan. And we’ll keep doing that until we get the outcome we want.”

I know he’s trying to reassure me, but I don’t think anything will. I won’t be able to inhale a full breath until Hallie’s in my arms again.

“Do you trust Bill?”

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