AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sure am.”
“Good.” His tone instantly changes. “Fucking hell, Falcon. Where have you been? I found your car with a stained wedding dress in it. Please don’t tell me it belongs to that girl who ran away and was last spotted in Bearclaw Ridge.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Because she’s all over the news, that’s why. Am I going to have to visit you in prison from now on?”
I let out an incredulous laugh. “Prison?”
“You didn’t harm her, did you?” Titan asks, caution lining his voice.
“What the fuck, brother? You think I’m some crazy murderer?”
“No, but the cops will if they find your truck with a stained wedding dress in it. How are you going to explain that?”
“I’ve got nothing to explain. I found Iris hiding behind our kayaks and took her on an overnight camping trip so she could clear her mind and think things through. She’s right here if you want proof. I helped her, that’s it.”
There’s a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Titan speaks again, his tone softer this time. “Damn it, Falcon. You always were too damn kind for your own good. This girl’s father is going to lose his shit when he hears about this. He’s been on the news several times already, begging whoever kidnapped his daughter to bring her home.”
“Shit, are you serious?”
“I am.”
“Look, she needed help. I couldn’t turn her away.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Titan says with a sigh. “Just be careful, okay? And get your ass back here before the cops find you two.”
“We will,” I say.
“Just get back here in one piece,” he says before the line goes silent.
I turn to Iris. She’s as white as a sheet, but her hands are balled into fists. “I’m not letting my father arrest you for something you didn’t do, Falcon.”
“He won’t, don’t worry.”
Tears form in her eyes. “You have no idea what he’s capable of. Whether you did or didn’t kidnap me doesn’t matter to him. He’ll go with the kidnapping story because that will save his reputation. He won’t admit his daughter ran away because his future son-in-law cheated on her.”
Her words hit me like a punch in the gut, but I’m not giving up on her or us. “We’ll figure something out. We can’t let your father dictate our lives like this.”
“You’re right. I’m done playing the perfect daughter,” she says, furiously wiping a tear away from her face. “Come on, let’s get down this mountain and fix this.”
We climb into the car and drive straight to Bearclaw Ridge’s police station. I park across the street so we don’t attract any unwanted attention. On the way here, I called my buddy, Malcolm, who’s part of the Bearclaw Ridge police force. He’s expecting us and promised to mediate between us and Iris’s father. With any luck, he’ll be able to defuse the situation before it escalates.
I shoot Iris a reassuring glance before turning off the engine.
Her grip on the door handle betrays her nerves, but she shoots me a determined look. “Let’s do this.”
We climb out of the car and head straight to the entrance. As promised, Malcolm is there, waiting for us.
“Thanks for doing this, buddy,” I tell him.
“No problem. Let’s head inside and sort this out.”
Iris bursts into the room without waiting for us. A man in a suit, whom I assume is her father, stands up.
“Iris, where are your manners, bursting into a room like this? And what in heaven’s name are you wearing?” he asks, his expression full of disapproval.
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Manners? My outfit? No, oh, thank goodness you’re alive, Iris?”
