AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Were they still in the vicinity?
If they were, it meant they were more determined than he would have expected to get Lila back and go after his team.
Survival instincts usually meant people did whatever they had to do to keep themselves safe, but staying meant they were no longer interested in just self-preservation. That made them so much more dangerous.
Logical people could be understood and their behavior predicted, but once someone stepped outside of that zone, they became a wild card.
Wild cards did the unexpected.
Alone out here with an injured and pregnant woman, the last thing he needed was to deal with an unpredictable couple, one of whom was obsessed with Lila, the other who had an obsession with revenge against him.
* * * * *
November 18th
1:11 P.M.
Christian was keeping something from her.
As they trudged through the forest, Lila tried to figure out what it could be and not be hurt that he was keeping secrets.
She had no doubt that he had found something when he’d left their little cave to go and find her something to use as a crutch because when he had returned, he’d been different. Colder, harder, sharper, he was in special forces operator mode.
Something had spooked him.
Enough that she was almost positive that they were not in fact walking toward the mansion. Her sense of direction wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t terrible, and even though she’d been all but unconscious when he’d carried her to the cave so she didn’t know exactly where it was, she would bet anything that they were walking in the opposite direction right now.
He’d been vague when she’d asked him about it, giving her non-answer after non-answer until she’d stopped asking. While Lila appreciated that he wanted to protect her, the wondering and worrying about it were doing more harm than good.
Although at least it was distracting her from the pain in her ankle.
Before leaving the cave, Christian had given her some painkillers. She couldn’t take anything too strong because she had to be able to walk, and the paracetamol hardly did anything to dull the throbbing pain in the joint. Each step she took felt like a burst of fire set off inside her ankle. It was hell, but no matter how bad it got she wasn’t stopping.
However long it took.
No matter the danger surrounding them.
Whether it continued to get colder or if snow came.
She was going to do whatever it took to get home.
“Time for a rest,” Christian announced in his brisk near-emotionless voice.
Lila couldn’t take it anymore.
Tears burned her eyes. She was hungry, thirsty, dirty, cold, and in pain. She was worried about her baby, about Christian, his team, and herself. Scared that Ross and Zara were nearby. Worried about why they weren’t heading for the mansion and what that meant for them and his team.
With an exhausted cry, she dropped right where she stood, not bothering to check that there was nothing dangerous she might land on.
In an instant, Christian was by her side, his handsome face creased with concern. “Honey, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Is it your ankle?”
A sob built in her throat, but she shoved it back, not wanting to worry him more by bursting into tears. Why was she being so hard on him in her head? If he was keeping something from her it was because he believed it was for the best. This was his area of expertise, not hers, and she was filled with the realization that she should have stayed in the cave and let him handle things.
“Sweetheart, you’re scaring me,” Christian said as his hand cupped her cheek.
The soft touch broke the dam.
Tears flooded out in an unstoppable torrent, streaming down her cheeks even as she did her best to blink them away.
