“Okay.”
“Okay?” I ask, shifting on my feet. I never expected him to agree.
“I don't have shoes for you to wear.”
“I don't care,” I rush out, my heart racing at the thought of being outside for the first time in a solid month. My heart rate kicks up double when he walks across the room and opens the front door. I feel locked in place as if maybe this is a test of his own. I have to wonder what the tradeoff is going to be. What he's going to expect in return. And as someone outside looking in, they would realize how crazy I've actually become. The thought of an ultimatum thrills me rather than scares me.
I take a few tentative steps in his direction as he steps out onto the porch. The entire thing is screened in, covered by an extension of the roof. I only think about running for a split second because I know he will chase me. But then I reconsider. If he chases me, he'll have to touch me to catch me, and the thought of that thrills me.
He gives me less space than usual. It doesn't go unnoticed that he keeps himself between me and the screen door leading out into the yard. I see nothing but sand.
“It's hot out here,” I complain. He doesn’t say a word as my eyes skate over the landscape. It's beautiful, I realize. There's nothing to obstruct the land or the setting sun. How have I forgotten how beautiful a sunset can be? Did I stop noticing those things before I was taken?
“Are we still in Texas?” I ask.
“Barely,” he responds, but he doesn’t elaborate.
The silence around us is interrupted only by the sound of bugs and crickets.
“It's strange not to hear any road noise,” I say more to myself than to him.
“It's very secluded out here.” His words sound like a threat, a warning, but I don't feel that rush of fear that I probably should at realizing that even getting outside doesn't mean I can escape. “No one around for miles,” he says in an absent way. It doesn't sound like he's warning me this time.
I'm wondering how hot the desert sand would feel under my toes as I take a step back. His eyes track me as if he fully expects me to shove past him and run away. I like his eyes on me. I like the dark circles under them when he wakes up because it means he spent a lot of the night watching me.
It was weird when the room was fully dark but now shadows are cast through the room from the night-lights he installed after the night I hurt my toe.
“Liam,” I whisper as I take a couple steps closer to him. Normally he would move. Every other time we got within arm's reach he would shift out of the way. It became a habit for me to do it as well. I give him distance. He gives me distance. He doesn't move and even the Texas heat doesn't prevent the chill that it sends down my body. I gasp when he reaches up, cupping my cheek.
There have been brushes. It's hard to be in such close proximity with someone for a solid month for there to be absolutely no inadvertent touches, but this is different. My pulse pounds, my eyes fluttering closed, and I do exactly what feels right in this moment. I press the palm of my hand to his stomach before looking back up at him.
He looks just as dazed as I feel. Just as wrapped up in this moment. I'm scared. I'm scared he'll back away. I’m scared that he won't. He leans in closer. Nothing exists in this moment but him as his lips brush mine. He doesn't deepen the kiss. He looks sad and heartbroken when I open my eyes.
But then I hear the noise. It's a low buzzing sound and from the look on Liam's face I can tell that it's not normal. It's not a generator on the side of the house, or a common occurrence around here.
“I'll never regret taking you,” he whispers. “I'll never regret making you mine even though a month is all we’ll get. Whatever happens, know that it was worth it.”
I swallow, my emotions getting the better of me. “What's that noise?” I ask.
He gives his head a slight little shake, but I don't know what question he’s answering. “A drone. They found you.” He gives me a small smile. It's weak and sad. “You get to go home now.”
Chapter 27
Liam
I cup her cheek for a long moment before stepping back. I need to memorize her face. If I were given the opportunity to choose the very last thing that I ever see in my life, it would be her.
“No regrets,” I tell her before taking a step back and turning away.
I open the screen door, taking the steps to the ground slowly before lowering to my knees on the hard ground. I lift my arms, interlocking my fingers behind my head just as the first SUV is rolling up the driveway.
I can't risk her life with stray bullets. I know there’s no way to fight my way out of this and I'd never endanger her in that way. As if they’re prepared to take over a small country, four huge guys pile out of the SUV, guns drawn, all pointed in my direction. I close my eyes, expecting a hail of bullets. I can’t imagine what the command would have been given by Thomas Reed, what instructions these guys have been given if they find me.
Surviving the situation is highly unlikely, and I knew that from the moment she told me who she was. Thomas Reed isn’t president yet, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be sacrificed if I’m a threat to the United States.
I find myself hoping for death, praying that one of these motherfuckers gets a little trigger happy because I can’t imagine the alternative. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without her. They don’t shoot, but they aren’t gentle as they flatten me to the ground. A knee pinned between my shoulder blades as they yank my hands behind my back and put on a pair of cuffs tight enough to cut off the circulation in my hands.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I growl when one of them yanks me up and jerks me toward the SUV.