Stolen by Truths (Truth or Lies 4)

I bite my lip.

She notices. But she doesn’t touch me. She doesn’t kiss me. She doesn’t throw herself into my arms now that she is free.

“We need to get out of here,” I say.

She nods.

“Can I carry you?”

She nods.

And I’m afraid that may be all I ever get again from her—a nod.

I lift her body, and it feels different than any other time I’ve touched her. The spark is gone. But then again, that is to be expected. She was just raped. And I just went through a war to find her.

But we’ve been through bad times before, and every time, the spark was there.

Every time but this time.

And a little more of my hope leaves me.

I carry her through the woods to my waiting car. Langston and I drove here together when the signal finally came through from her earring. It was no longer sending out a signal of her location unless she pressed the button, which she finally did, but only after it was too late to save her.

Langston will have to find his own way back.

I consider putting her in the backseat. But it’s too far away from me. The seat next to me is too.

So I push the driver’s seat back as far as I can, and then I sit down with her in my lap. It’s not comfortable for either of us, but she doesn’t complain or ask for me to move her.

Probably because she isn’t speaking to me again. This will be just like before. Maybe worse.

I start driving, taking her away from the destruction of our world. And hoping to find something that resembles healing in the horizon.

I should drive back to the cottage we rented, but I don’t. I can’t deal with people right now. Kai can’t either.

So I drive toward the water.

Some of our men brought one of the yachts over. But it’s empty because everyone was focused on killing Milo and his men.

I park the car on the side of the road and carry her up to the yacht. The water has been the thing that has brought us together and torn us apart more than anything else. Maybe it can do it one more time?

If nothing else, it will give us a place to be alone for a while. Because completely alone might be the only way we will heal.

I holler for a dockhand to untie us. And then I head to the helm and start the engines with Kai still in my lap.

We head out into the darkness of the night. But the darkness never bothered us. Until now...

I did everything I was supposed to do.

I made sure she bathed and put on clean clothes.

I got her food and water.

I never left her alone.

But now, I have no idea what to do.

Do I try to get her to sleep?