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Caylen crawled from my lap when he was done eating and headed straight for the decorated tree in the corner. We were a week away from Christmas, and my excitement was nonexistent. Stability was the one thing I wanted to give to Caylen this year. The Garretts had been nothing but welcoming, but I never let myself forget this was temporary.
When Caylen started to pull the ornaments off the tree, I took him upstairs for his bath. “One of these days,” I said as I washed his hair, “you and I are going to be just fine.”
He responded by splashing the water and laughing outrageously when suds caked my cheeks and hair. After his bath, I read to him one of the books Michelle loaned me until he fell asleep. Downstairs, Anna was packing to leave as Tim waited by the door, dressed in his uniform for his shift. Michelle usually picked her up from the city and Tim would take her back. It was humbling how much they have done for me and how little they asked in return. I haven’t known this kind of warmth since my mother died. It often made me envious of Tabitha.
Anna hugged me on her way to the door. “I’ll see you in a few days, but call me if anything weird happens.”
I pulled back with a frown. “Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I just have a feeling. But it’s not a bad one,” she rushed to assure when my frown deepened.
I promised to call her and settled on the couch to finally watch the scary movie Tabitha’s been bugging me about. She was too afraid to watch it alone, and Anna flat out refused, so that left me. Always the lamb and never the butcher.
I wasn’t able to concentrate on the move, however, because Anna’s words kept ringing in my head. It brought back the fear that returning to the estate was inevitable. No one had ever expected Angel to stay away this long. Tim had already assured me that I wouldn’t be going anywhere I didn’t want to, but accepting his promise meant putting them at risk. I could never do that.
Anger burned in my gut.
How could Angel ever expect me to call the estate my home? It would always be a prison.
I went to bed afraid for tomorrow, and it was all because of a feeling.
Augustine had been right.
Running didn’t make me free.
I didn’t get much sleep thinking about it, and the next morning I cried in the shower. I hadn’t allowed myself to cry since Angel flat out told me I couldn’t take care of myself.
My tears had dried, and I was toweling off when I heard heavy footsteps. Tabitha was at school, hopefully passing her geometry test, and Michelle and Tim were both at work. I didn’t allow myself time to consider who it might be. I rushed out of the bathroom and to the spare bedroom where Caylen and I slept. I locked the door and snatched the lamp from the nightstand while Caylen was busy pulling off his socks. Of course, the Garretts would be robbed while I was home alone.
I could hear the footsteps on the stairs now. They weren’t even trying to be quiet as they reached the landing. When I heard the knock on my door a moment later, my arm lowered as I stared at the door. The spare bedroom was at the end of the hall, which means the burglar had come straight to my room. Did they know I was here? Why would a burglar bother knocking?
“Princess?”
My legs threatened to give out when I recognized Z’s voice. I rushed to the door and unlocked it to find both Lucas and Z standing on the other side. They were both dressed in gray suits, Lucas’s a slightly darker shade than Z’s.
“What are you two doing here?” I screamed.
Z’s grin broadened while Lucas’s frown deepened. “We’re here to pick you up.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. How did you even get in here?”
Lucas snorted. “Really?” he questioned cockily. I forget that their criminal talents stretched so wide that picking a simple lock was child’s play. After all, I’d done it myself.
And now, here I am, I reminded myself with a twinge of bitterness.
“Sorry, princess. It’s not really an option.” They muscled their way into the bedroom. Caylen clapped excitedly when he saw them and lifted his arms like the little traitor he was. Lucas was the first to grab and hold him while Z tickled him. His happy squeals made me forget momentarily that these men were loyal to Angel first.
“We’ll be downstairs while you get dressed.” I was ready to feign agreement and call Tim as soon as they were out of the room until I realized they were leaving with Caylen.
