Brodie guided me into a separate building that was like his cabin, but larger. My parents and Vanessa were already there, seated around a huge oval table. Jackson was there too and some others who I didn’t recognise. They didn’t look overly happy to see me at all. Their gazes were intimidating and cold. I wanted nothing more than to turn and leave. I tugged on Brodie’s arm until he came to a stop, leaving us just out of earshot. “This isn’t quite what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“I don’t know. All of us gathered around a fire in the darkness.” The look of humour that spread over his face showed how amused he was by my stupidity.
“We’ve moved past those kinds of rituals these days. We’re more civilised. Not to mention that we live in the Scottish Highlands. It’s hardly healthy to be outside after dark, even with the warmth of a fire.” I continued to follow him to the table and took the seat right beside him. I felt like we needed to show a united front. B
BrodieI couldn’t stay in there when I could see how much distress she was in. She hated me so much that even seeing me was too much. I stood out there in the rain, as though everything going on inside was nothing to do with me. The baby or babies were already more Jackson’s than mine and the idea killed me. He would be welcomed into that room while I stayed outside in the cold. I never could have imagined the gravity of the consequences of my mistakes.For a while, I had thought Jackson wanted her as his own and although I had been wrong, it had turned out that way, anyway. Jackson was her partner in everything and had been there for her and the baby. I was nothing, and he was everything. I felt like my heart was literally tearing in two. Between my pain and hers, I could barely stand it. Everything was coursing through me and it was too much to handle. The pain, the rage, the longing for Jackson. I could hear her crying out his name in her mind over and over
EsmeThe pain seemed to reverberate through me, wave after wave. I needed Jackson. He was the only one that would be able to stop me from finding comfort in Brodie. Each time he reached for me, I pulled away, but I was getting weaker in my resolve. I couldn’t let him get close. My need for him was too great. If I dared give into him, I would be lost to him. I loved him so much, but it didn’t change everything he had done. I needed a distance between us, especially at that moment.So many times, Jackson and I had discussed how hard it would be for me to see the baby and not let my love for Brodie creep back in. Love was a convincing force. It could easily persuade me to accept the status quo at the camp. To make me think that second place was better than not having him at all. I could see the concern in his eyes, and it was enough to make my resolve soften. Seeing him like that was enough to convince me that I was the only person he ever looked at like that. Ex
BrodieI felt the change in her instantly. The fear screamed at me silently from across the room. I turned instinctively to her and followed her gaze towards Marcus. I never should have let him come to the house. She was in a vulnerable state. I never considered that she would see him as a threat after she had kicked his ass the way she did. It wasn’t until that moment that I realised she wasn’t the same person that had dealt with him before. The confidence, the recklessness had all disappeared.“Just go! Find Jackson and get him back here.” Mikkel had already filled them in on where he had gone and possible routes home. I was confident they would have him back at the house in no time. After I shut the door, I was left with nothing else but to face her. To try to explain why Marcus was there, but she was hardly in a good enough condition for that conversation. If I was going to have a hard conversation, that wasn’t the one I wanted to start with. It wasn’t as
EsmeI lay there looking at the scene before me, in the darkness and not knowing what the hell I was looking at. The pain was immense and Mikkel had made it clear I was in trouble. My body was fighting against itself and it was ripping apart from the inside out. The fever was still blaring and between that and the pain, I must have been hallucinating. Why else would I have seen Brodie tousling with Mikkel on the floor? I wondered if it was wishful thinking. If my subconscious was crying out for him and had conjured him up in my mind.“Seriously, mate, I’m just trying to help her. Will you stop and listen?” The ball of fists and feet seemed to come to a stop. Leaving the two of them lying on the floor. Brodie on top of Mikkel. I let out a scream as another bolt of pain shot through me. There were so many pains it was impossible to tell what was due to the contractions, and what wasn’t. The only reason I even had a clue what was happening to me was because Mikke
BrodieEight Weeks AfterWe had travelled constantly and arrived around twenty miles from the east coast. All it meant was that it was time to turn back on ourselves and head south-west. We travelled from coast to coast, heading south as we went. It was taking forever, and we were running out of time. I was lying on top of my sleeping bag under the temporary canopy I had put up in the trees when Marcus appeared in front of me. At some point, we had built some form of trust. He didn’t seem like he wanted to walk away anymore. Once I confided in him that Esme was pregnant, he seemed to be as concerned as I was.It was probably an act, and I had already made it clear to him that he would be chained again before we got to her. I wouldn’t put her at risk. I didn’t put it past him to play along just to get close enough to try to take her out again. For the time being, at least we were drawing less attention when travelling. “What’s up? You best not b
EsmeIt had been hours since Jackson had left and I was starting to regret my decision to send him away. When I had tried to drink my morning tea to mask me from Brodie, I had been violently sick. It hadn’t really stopped. For hours, my body had been trying to force my insides out. There was nothing left, but it still kept trying. It was like my own body had turned against me and I was terrified.I sat on the sofa shivering, despite the fire roaring right in front of me. The weakness that was overcoming my body made it impossible to do anything but sit there slumped over. Something was wrong, and I knew it. I just didn’t know what to do. The weather outside was awful and I could hear the wind howling. Rain pelted against the windows as though it was demanding to come inside.It was starting to get dark, and I kept seeing shadows dancing around the room. I kept jumping each time a new one appeared out of nowhere. I felt like someone was watching me. It w