You’re mine, he told me in the bathroom, but that’s only sex talk.
It’s not real. The way he took me again and again last night, spreading me wide, holding down my wrists, or turning me onto my hands and knees, that was real.
That’s the only thing we have.
There’s a knock at the door, and Elijah moves quickly. In a blur he has a knife from the block and he’s standing beside the door. Marisol lets out a little shriek of surprise and fear, and I block her with my body. Instinctively I understand that Adam might have found us here, and I don’t want our hosts to be hurt for helping us.
Elijah uses the blade to move aside the white eyelet-pattern curtain. There’s a pause where the entire room holds its breath. Then he relaxes. The change is infinitesimal but very real. If I were an animal, the hair raised on the back of my neck would slowly lower to normal.
He opens the door, and someone walks in. Someone who is very clearly his brother. If I were to have passed him on the street, I would know he’s related to Elijah. The same tall build with broad shoulders and tanned skin. The same hard nose and firm mouth. Most of all they share the same vibrant green eyes.
Liam nods at Elijah.
Elijah nods back, his expression closed.
That’s when I realize that these two men are virtually strangers. Elijah may have called his brother for help, but these are not men who regularly get together for Thanksgiving. My heart clenches as they both regard each other warily, two wolves wondering what the other will do.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I say, breaking the silence. I throw my arms at Liam, and luckily for me, he catches me in a hug. “It was so awful. We didn’t know who to call—and on our honeymoon! You’re such a good big brother for coming.”
He falls into the deception easily, tousling my hair as the quintessential sibling. “Not the most lucky start, but we’re going to make sure you two have a good time. I promise.”
“My sister. Did you talk to her? She must be so worried. I promised her I’d text.”
“I reached out,” he says, his nod casual, those green eyes solemn. They’re a richer color, giving the impression of depth. Elijah’s eyes are more hazel with gold lines. “Didn’t quite catch her by phone before I got on the plane, but I’m sure I’ll reach her soon.”
Disappointment sinks in my stomach. It had been nice to imagine that London had hooked up with some stranger and turned off her ringer for a couple weeks. It’s not even an entirely unlikely scenario. She could have come back to the world and found my messages about flying to France. She could be at the embassy waiting for me. Wishful thinking.
Swallowing my worry, I step backward and gesture to Marisol. Her husband has come in behind her. “These are our hosts,” I say to Liam. “They’ve been so kind since we lost everything.”
He steps forward and offers a handshake. “You have my gratitude for taking care of my brother. Family means the world to me. If you ever need anything, I’ll leave my number.”
“Do we have to leave right away?” I ask. “We’re making bread.”
Liam glances at Elijah, who studies the conversation as if he’s an outsider. There’s something very alone about him, and my heart clenches. “There’s time,” Elijah says. “Maybe I can take a walk with my brother while you finish making lunch.”
“Of course.” I reach up to place a kiss on Elijah’s cheek. “See you when you get back, honey.”
It feels like a wifely thing to do, and it occurs to me that Liam North may think we’re actually married. That’s what Elijah had said over the phone.
He watches me with speculation in his eyes. And caution.
It’s a good thing I have no intention of harming Elijah. I don’t think his brother would allow that to happen. Strangers or not, there’s a bond between these men. Something that drew him across the world based on a single phone call. I understand that bond because it’s the same one I share with my sister. If she’s in trouble, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
London, where are you?
We’ve covered for each other; we’ve supported each other.
We’ve been sisters in every sense of the word, despite our differences, but we’ve never had to search for each other. The world is too vast, and the risk of failure too great.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Elijah
I raise my hand and let the tips of wheat stalks scrape across my palm. Even with a hundred bruises, even with broken bones, it feels fucking incredible to be alive. Or maybe I just feel so good because of the massive amount of sex I’ve just had.
“She seems nice,” Liam says.
I give him a sideways glance. “We’re not actually married.”
He doesn’t seem surprised. “She still seems nice.”
Nice? I suppose. She seems fucking sexy. Maddening. Consuming. Those are the words that I think of about Holly Frank. I want to swallow down her light so I can keep it inside me. Nice? That’s a foreign word compared to my feelings. “Appreciate you coming.”
“Of course,” he says, which is a lie. We owe each other nothing.
“Josh?” Our middle brother.
“Alive,” he says, which about sums up the North brothers. We’re survivors. “I’m glad you called, even if the circumstances are shit. You’re favoring your left side. Broken ribs?”
“A couple.”
He says nothing. “Don’t suppose you want a doctor?”
“That’s not a priority.”
“I disagree about that, but I think I lost my right to be the protective big brother a long time ago. There are some fake passports, fresh credit cards. A private jet at the airport.”
“Thank you.”
“Is it the girl? Is she trouble?”
We’re walking through the stalks where a tractor has come through, mowing them right down to the ground. I give him a hard look. “Like you said, you lost the right to be the protective big brother a long time ago.”
“You want an apology?” he asks, his tone light.
“Fuck no.”
“Because I don’t mind giving you one. It’s owed.”
“There’s nothing owed. I called you, and you came.” That’s more proof of familial responsibility than a thousand apologies would be. It means I’m indebted to him. The money in the account? That meant nothing. Helping me protect Holly is the only thing I need.
“Are you going to read me in?”
That’s military speak for giving him the classified details. “I was on a mission. Holly was going to get hurt, and the only way to stop it was to go AWOL.”
He whistles. “They’re not going to like that.”
Liam doesn’t even know the lieutenant colonel. He was a different division altogether, but all commanding officers are alike in this regard. No one would be pleased with me. The life of one civilian woman does not compare to the mission. That may be a hard truth that the American people don’t want to think about, but it’s true. I understood the order of things until I realized that Holland Frank was the same girl from my past. By then it was too late.