Page 41 of Fallen to Thievery
That made me wonder. “Why are you trusting me with this? You’re still letting me go, right?”
He swivelled, stepping right in front of me. I halted abruptly, to avoid a collision. My nerves couldn’t take his body pressed against me again. But he was still so close. He swept my braid off my shoulder, his fingers grazing my neck, sending goosebumps down my arm. He seemed inclined on touching my hair. “Maybe I’d like to keep you.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m not one of your stolenthings, Grayson.”Well, technically...“I’m not yours to keep.”
The corner of his mouth pulled up into the sexiest crooked smile I had ever seen on a man. I almost forgot to breathe. “But think of all the fun you’d have, if you were.”
I opened my mouth, not sure what I was going to say, but he flicked me on the nose and walked off. I followed after him again, trying to reign my emotions in. Sparks were travelling up and down my body as my mind replayed his words over and over. But before I could process how I was feeling, the cabin appeared a few steps ahead.
“Home, sweet home,” Grayson sighed, adjusting the heavy backpack on his shoulders.
Gemma was sitting on the porch, wrapped in a blanket, eyes searching the woods. Her dark hair was braided back into two perfect French braids. There was a deep crease between her brows. As soon as she saw us, she shot to her feet and ran straight for us. I presumed she was running towards Grayson, but as soon as she reached us, she threw her arms around me.
“Oh, thank God! I was so worried!” She squeezed me tightly. “It was bad enough that we kidnapped you, I would havediedif you got eaten by those things.” She held me at arm’s length and looked at my face. “God! I told them!” she said as she punched Grayson on the chest. “We shouldn’t have locked you in that room like a goddamned prisoner. You must have thought we were a bunch of psychopaths!”
“The jury is still out on that one,” I said with a pointed look towards Grayson.
He furrowed his brow at me and pulled my braid.
Gemma didn’t miss anything about the interaction between me and Grayson, her eyes sparkling. “Him? Yeah, no. He’s definitely a psycho. I was talking about me and Hunter.” She smiled sweetly at Grayson. She obviously wasn’t scared of him, like I had thought.
She noticed my leg and new scrapes on my arms and face. Her eyes widened with fury. “What the hell, Grayson! Did you tackle heragain?” She balled her fists, her knuckles turning white. “I told you, if you hurtonemore hair on her…” She punched at his face, which Grayson side-stepped easily, but was nearly caught off guard as she snatched her elbow back, almost hitting him in the nose. He blocked her elbow with his palm and used it to push her away from him. She swivelled, instantly ready to launch at him again, but Grayson had his hands in the air, backing away two steps. From the effortless way they moved, it was obvious that they were skilled fighters.
“Gem! It wasn’t me,” he surrendered.
She glared at him as laughter came from the porch. It was Hunter. He was leaning over the porch railing, clearly enjoying the fight. “You want me to hold him down for you, babe?”
Grayson turned to glare at Hunter but didn’t dare take his attention from Gemma for more than a second.
Gemma turned to me. “Did he do that to you?” she demanded.
I shook my head, then looked to the ground. I didn’t want to talk about it or even think about it.
Gemma studied the two of us for a few long seconds, then her demeanour shifted. She placed an arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards the cabin. “Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?” Her voice was soft now. “You look like you’ve been through hell. Well, more than you already have… You know what I mean.” She waved her hand. We reached the steps. “You also look like you could do with a warm meal. You both do.” She looked over her shoulder to where Grayson was following.
Hunter stepped to the side to let us pass. “Hey,” he called.
I looked up towards him.
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
I bit at my lip and kept my gaze on the floorboards. I didn’t know if I could stomach the answer, but I had to know. “The cashier in the bank. You had your gun to her head. Did you hurt her?”
“Blondie? Nah, she’s fit as a fiddle. We didn’t hurt anyone, just so you know. Some sleeping darts here and there, but that’s all.” Hunter held his hands up, giving me an easy grin.
I gave him a small smile in return, the only response I could muster.
Thank the gods. I had tried not to think about it, tried to pretend they were all fine, and deep down I knew Rachel was okay. I could feel her presence still in this world but it had been a constant darkness at the edge of my mind.
Gemma pulled me inside and helped me up the stairs.
Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d be glad to step foot into the feebly furnished room again. But here I was, feeling relieved to see the clean, warm, cosy comforter on the bed. I wanted nothing more than to fall face first onto the soft mattress.
No, I realised. Therewassomething I wanted more. A hot shower. To scrub every inch of me, from head to toes.
Gemma pulled open the lower drawer of the dresser and pulled out a bath towel. That hadn’t been there before. She also took out the green pyjamas that once had me heaving over the toilet. “This colour looked way better on you than me.” She straightened suddenly. “I’m Gemma, by the way.”
I smiled at her. “I know. I’m Ava.”
