Page 38 of Fallen to Thievery
His face fell a bit, but he still smiled down at me, dark clouds starting to gather in his eyes. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” He pushed my hair behind my ear, while I squirmed nervously. I didn’t know if I wanted to move away from his touch or lean into it. I bit my lip.
He slipped his fingers under my chin and turned my face towards him again. He was always doing that. Making me look at him.
“I won’t kill you… if you’re still worried about that?”
I felt the tightness in my chest relax. Ihadbeen worried about that. About starting to feel for someone who might kill me. It was absurd. “Thank you, I guess?”
He chuckled. “You’re welcome, Princess.” He regarded me again. “Anything else on your mind?”
I bit my lip again and he smiled at it. Warmth spread through me, settling in my cheeks. I couldn’t hide the way this new side of Grayson affected me.
I cleared my throat and my thoughts. “So, are you keeping me captive forever then?”
“No, but I can’t let you go yet. I need time…” he sighed and pulled his hand through his hair, “…to think.”
I nodded. My heartsoared. I was going to see Mom and Dad and Rachel and everyone else again.
“Will you be patient for me, Ava?” His voice was pleading, soft.
I nodded again. But it wasn’t time he needed. “You don’t trust me yet.”
He didn’t respond. His silence was answer enough.
“What can I do to win your trust?” The irony of my words wasn’t lost on me. Oh, how the tables have turned. I didn’t know how to feel. Everything was messed up. The world had tilted on its axis.
Grayson shook his head in amusement. He also found my words ironic. He flicked my nose playfully. “Let’s go home.” He climbed out of the tent.
I sat for a while longer, dazed. So much have changed. But I had to stay focused. I still had to get home. Myrealhome. I had a pact to keep.
“Howfararewefrom the cabin? And how do you even know which way to go?” I haven’t seen him look at a map. He did pull a compass from his pocket every now and then yesterday.
He winked at me but kept quiet. After a while, he asked, “Are you going to tell me where you stashed our rifles?”
I winked at him but kept quiet. Two can play this game.
He chuckled and lifted me over a fallen tree. We walked in silence for a while. I had opted for only one walking stick this time. We had packed up our things pretty quickly before continuing our hike back to the cabin. In all honesty, I couldn’t wait to get there. A warm, soft bed and good food was waiting for me. And I would especially enjoy a nice, hot shower. Maybe the cabin hadn’t been that bad after all. Maybe I reallywasjust acting like a princess.
I let my senses explore the beautiful world around me to pass the time. Lush green everywhere, even at the precipice of winter. But Autumn’s colours swilled throughout the green, creating the most beautiful kaleidoscope. We only camped here in summer, so I’d never experienced the forest likethis. The birdsongs were lovely but awfully loud this time of themorning. It helped to concentrate on just one bird’s song. I breathed in deep the smell of pine and wet earth. The best smell in the world.
“So, what is it that you do when you’re not being kidnapped?” Grayson walked beside me, keeping in step with my slow pace.
A smile crept onto my face. “An answer for an answer?”
He grimaced at me but relented. “Sure,” he sighed.
I nodded, satisfied. “I’m an herbalist. I have a shop that sells alternative medicine. What do you do when you don’t rob or kidnap people?”
He smiled and pulled up his shoulders. “This and that. Some fun here, some traveling there.”
I frowned. “That’s nice. I would’ve thought there was a lot of hiding involved. Like now.” I stopped to pick at a cluster of Wood Sorrel, placing most of the delicate leaves in my pocket, and keeping some to chew on. They were a wonderful anti-inflammatory.
The sides of his lips pulled up as he dropped to pick a Wood Sorrel leaf, inspecting it. “That’s the thing about being ghosts. We don’t have to hide. We’re just hidingyou.”
“Ghosts?” He made no sense.
“I’ve told you. The old-school bank robbery wasn’t our usual MO.” His gaze shifted to me quickly, then away—a touch of tension in it, like he had said more than he was comfortable with. He rolled his shoulders back. “So, what will you give me for the incessant headaches I keep getting?” He peered, intrigued, at my lips while I chewed on another little Wood Sorrel leaf.
“It depends on what causes the headaches?” I wanted to know more about their robbing activities, but I kept it in. I wouldn’t want him to shut down on me.
