She put her hand out. “I can do it.”
I smiled at her. “I want to. And while I feed you, I want you to talk to me. Tell me everything and anything you can remember. Then I’m going to help you take a shower. And after that I want you to get some rest. Once you’re discharged we are going to go down and talk to Blanchet. This is much bigger than me and Miles, and I think it’s time we let the authorities handle it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
The sun slammed through the window and she squinted.
“Here, I’ll shut the blinds.”
She shook her head and reached for the sunglasses that were hanging from my long-sleeved T-shirt. “I want to feel the sun on me. It feels so good. I was cold for so long.”
That fucking lump was back in my throat and my hands were shaking as I tried to feed her the chicken broth.
She opened her mouth and accepted the spoonful. She swallowed slowly.
As I went to give her another, I said, “Listen, before you start, I need to tell you something.”
Fear riveted her and her entire body went rigid. She stopped me from giving her another spoonful by taking hold of my hand. “What is it? It’s not Clementine, is it?”
“No,” I said immediately.
She relaxed.
“I went to see Michael. He didn’t believe me that you were missing, so I told him I was talking to you on the phone when you were abducted. I didn’t tell him anything else about us, but I’m sure he can figure it out.”
She took her hand away and indicated I could continue.
That was a good sign.
I scooped another spoonful.
After she swallowed it, she said, “I think you are right. It’s time to come clean about everything. Michael loves Clementine and I know even if he’s angry with me, he’ll do what’s best for her. In the end, he will.”
I wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince me or herself, but I agreed with her.
She ate everything on her plate and told me what she remembered, which wasn’t much. I helped her shower and then put her back into bed. She didn’t have any clean clothes, so a clean hospital gown had to do for now. Once she fell asleep, I’d slip out and head to the lobby. Miles was downstairs and I needed to fill him in. And I was also certain he wouldn’t mind heading back to Boston to grab a few things—including one very important thing.
“Lay with me,” she whispered.
“I’d do anything for you,” I said as I took my place next to her.
“Even jump through fire?” she asked sleepily as her head found my chest.
“Jump through fire, leap from the tallest bridge, scale buildings, anything.”
“My hero.”
I wasn’t her hero.
Or her white knight.
But I knew what I could be and as corny as the thought was in my mind, I was going to be . . . her Prince Charming.
ELLE
A tiny detail sat on the outskirts of my consciousness.
It was right there but I couldn’t place it. I was in the bathroom when it hit. I’d just woken up and Logan wasn’t back yet. Feeling clearer-headed than I had earlier, I replayed the events of the past few days in my head. It wasn’t long before my mind felt overworked trying to pull everything together and I wished Logan were here to bounce my thoughts off of.
Unfortunately, that tiny piece of the huge puzzle was lost before I could figure out what it meant. Frustrated, I stared into the white porcelain sink, trying over and over to bring it back.
I didn’t know how long I’d been standing in front of the mirror. Just looking. Thinking. Concentrating. Until eventually, I gave up and let my mind wander. I wondered if I’d have a scar. When I could kiss Logan without my lips scorching in pain. If the day would come when he could look at me without feeling racked with guilt. This wasn’t his fault. Whatever this was.
“Elle?”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
The voice caught me off guard. I gripped the sink, feeling panicked. Shifting my eyes around the small space, I knew I had no choice but to answer. There was no escape.
Still, I didn’t move.
Michael tapped on the bathroom door. “Elle?”
“Yes, I’ll be right out,” I called in a shaky voice.
Why was I frightened? I had no reason to be. He said he’d be back. Why hadn’t I thought to call and tell him not to come?
Stupid.
Stupid.
Stupid.
Logan had left me his phone in case I needed anything while he went down to talk to Miles, but that left him without one. My instructions were to call Miles if I needed anything, but the phone was on the table beside my bed.
Standing straight, I opened the door. It was when I looked at Michael that the small fragment I’d been trying to recall from somewhere in the back of my mind came to me in a flash. The memory was of me getting out of Michael’s car after Lizzy’s funeral. I was trying to avoid a conversation I didn’t want to have with him and was rushing for the door when a man called out to Michael. I twisted my head and the man calling to him had icy blue eyes, the same eyes as Michael. The same eyes as the ones I had seen in the rearview mirror. And his son was with him, the same boy who had groped me and injected me with insulin. Seamus. The man’s name was Seamus. Michael called him that.
I felt myself pale and squeezed my palms shut.
“What is it?” Michael asked.
Pensive, I stepped out into the room very aware that I was naked beneath my gown and hating it. It made me feel vulnerable. I shook it off and decided it was time I came clean and that Michael did as well. “Who was the man who came to the house after Lizzy’s funeral with all the flowers?” I asked sharply.
Michael’s entire demeanor instantly turned aloof. “How would I know? There were a lot of people there that day.”
I knew he was lying.
“Why do you ask?”
My mind was wandering again, back to the picture in Erin’s house, the one with the family of five—Michael, his sister, his mother, his father, and the fifth unknown. I changed tack. “Do you have an older brother?”
Michael took a step toward me. “What are all these questions about?”
I stepped back. “Do you?”
For a moment, neither of us moved or talked. “Have you thought about my proposition?”
Stunned, I couldn’t even comprehend why he’d bring that up now. “No, Michael, I haven’t. I’m sorry, but someone just kept me captive and injected me with insulin until he could figure out how to put me on the right path.”
Blatantly ignoring me, he matter-of-factly stated, “You have something I need and I have something you want. It seems like such a simple choice, but still, I need to hear your answer.”
“I don’t understand why you’re changing the topic,” I said, exasperated.
He took a deep breath. “There are so many things you don’t understand.”
I sighed. “Then help me—tell me what I need to know.”
“Elle, before I leave here, I need to know your answer. That’s all you need to know.”
I threw my hands up. “Why? Why before you leave here do you have to know?”
“Clementine’s safety depends on you saying yes,” he said in a broken voice.
Panic tore through me. “That’s not true. You’re using her to get what you want.”
He frowned. “I wish I was.”
No more. I couldn’t take any more of this tiptoeing. He had to stop his lies now. “I’m in love with Logan McPherson and I want to be with him, not you.”
Physically shaking, he ran his fingers through his dark hair. “I figured as much when he barged into my office looking for you.”