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“You think I was born yesterday?” Quaid asked, smirking at her.
She tried to smile back, but she was a quivering mess. She’d be in a heap on the wood floor if Hays wasn’t holding her up.
“Wait.” Aiden held up a hand. “My dad and Sutton both trained me to never overlook hidden implants that could be a tracking device. Benjamin has almost certainly injected something like that into her. Especially after you and Jacey both escaped.”
Elizabeth’s stomach turned over. She put a hand to it, leaning even more heavily into Hays.
“There was a small dental implant in Jacey’s cheek that Miles had removed before she came to the ranch,” Clint said.
Jacey nodded.
Quaid blew out a breath. “I don’t think they planned on my escape nine years ago. I didn’t have an implant.”
“Doc could remove any device and we can trust him,” the sheriff piped in, “but how do we scan for it? Miles used his Navy contacts. I doubt Doc’s X-ray machine will pick it up, and we’d have to go to Missoula for a more in-depth scan. Keeping people from recognizing Elizabeth Oliver would be tough.”
“I’ve got scanners on my plane.” Aiden smiled. “I always keep the newest gadgets with me.”
“How do you fit any humans on your plane?” Jacey teased Aiden, diffusing the tension a bit.
He smiled. “I’m very organized.”
Elizabeth felt like a dog tagged at the local animal shelter. She didn’t like the thought of a tracker inside her cheek or some hometown ‘Doc’ removing it, but if it meant her father couldn’t track her and come find these people and hurt them, she would do whatever she needed to do.
“Soon you’ll be free,” Hays said. “We’ll all work together to take down your father and then you can do what you’ve always longed to do.”
Elizabeth stared at him. His words didn’t compute. Freedom? Her father ‘taken down’? Do what she longed to do?
She had no hopes, no dreams. If Hays, Jacey, Quaid, and their spouses were safe and her father couldn’t continue to use her or any of them for his diabolical plans, her mission in life would be complete. What purpose could she possibly have beyond that?
Hays held her gaze, and there was a world of hope and promise there. Was he saying that the two of them could revisit the connection and sparks they’d discovered in communications class years ago? She had an image of her and Hays walking together along an icy path in a small village in Greenland, him telling her silly knock-knock jokes.
Hope fluttered in her chest. It was foreign and she couldn’t allow it to grow. There were a multitude of pieces to put into place, far too many steps to take, miracles that would have to happen, and she didn’t believe in heavenly help any longer. She had to deal with one step at a time, divulge all the information in her head to Aiden and Quaid so they could prepare for any eventuality with her father.
Hope couldn’t be allowed.
Hope in a future with Hays would distract her and endanger him. She was too dark and broken for someone like Hays.
“Let’s go,” Quaid urged.
Everyone started moving. Hays kept his arm around her.
“How did you end up involved in all of this?” she asked, looking up at him.
“Originally, Quaid brought me here to ascertain what you were all about,” he said as he escorted her to the front door.
Her stomach flipped. Quaid had never trusted her.
“I’ve accomplished that, and I trust you.” Hays gently squeezed her waist and gave her a smile that made her pulse quicken. “Now my purpose is to protect and support you.”
His very touch supported and invigorated her.
She stopped walking on the wide front porch, then tugged him to the side so the others could go around them. “Hays. You can’t. You don’t understand my life, what I’ve seen, what I’ve done. I’d only endanger and hurt you.”
Hays’s deep-brown eyes were determined. “You don’t know what I’ve seen, what I’ve done. I’ll protect you, then we’ll heal together. The Savior will help us and guide us.”
She pulled away from him. “I know you’re an elite Navy SEAL and your experiences have been hard, challenging, maybe even disturbing like my own. I can respect you turning to the Savior, but I can never go there. Let’s focus on what Quaid needs us to do to keep everyone safe.”
Walking away from him, she kept her head high and ignored the speculative glances from Jacey and Anna. Hays shadowed her. His patience and persistence tugged at her heart.
