Allie looked at the card and told him that he was going to have to do it. She was shaking and she didn’t want to show it. In just a few moments, Allie realized that their little love nest wasn’t as safe as she’d hoped it would be. She didn’t want to think about it too much. Allie was sure that nothing could really be done about it, and the anxiety that came with again having to find somewhere to have the babies was more than she could handle. They couldn’t leave. The time for her babies to arrive was coming quickly. She could feel it.
“Dearest Wife, I will give you until the morning to come out of there and back to me. You are going to have the children soon; mine and I want everyone to see the heir they have fought me for.”
Allie swallowed hard and wished that it had been Ben that found her. He was likely in the loop or something, but Allie couldn’t be sure. She was scared and her hands were shaking tremendously. “What are we going to do?”
Justice read it back to himself a couple of times. Allie could see the concern on his face, but she knew that there wasn’t much that she could say to make it all better. He said that everything was going to be okay, but neither one of them believed it.
She was in shock. “Well, that just means we need to get out of here, Justice. I'm sure if we leave tonight and take off, we will be fine. All he's trying to do is scare me,” Allie said. Her voice was trembling and again it was a lie that didn’t stand up well at all.
He just shook his head. “I don't know if I should believe it. What if he is out there hiding in the woods right now?”
Allie shook her head, trying to imagine Bishop doing something like that, but she really couldn't. He was too into himself and there was no way that he would waste his time. Likely he had hired several people to do it for him, and they were prepared to do whatever was necessary to get his way. Allie tried to ignore it, but there was another side of her that was sure that it was going to end very badly.
“Maybe I should just turn myself in. That could be easier and then nothing would happen to you. Bishop isn’t going to kill me, I’m pregnant.”
Justice shook his head and had a violent look on his face. There was no way that he was going for that, he just said no in a low voice that was as menacing as the look that she got. Allie never wanted Justice to look at her like that again. “You are not going to give my baby to that monster. I don’t give a damn who is out there. I am not going to let anything happen to you.”
Allie hoped that he was speaking for real. She was so worried about how it was going to turn out, but she knew that she didn’t have a choice. They were finally going to have to deal with it all. They’d been running and while Allie would much rather keep running, it was now clear that it might not happen. She wanted there to be a better reason for it all, but they were being forced to finally deal with it. Allie didn’t know how to feel about it, but she did know that she had a lot to focus on before leaving.
“You don’t think that I can keep you safe?” Justice asked with such a strange grin on his face. Allie was sure that she didn’t know the man that was standing in front of her now. Allie acted like she was used to it, but Justice was never rough like that. He sounded and acted like he wanted to be pushed to the limit. Allie didn’t know what she wanted, but she knew that she wanted Justice. There was just no easy answer, and it wasn’t her life that she worried about. It was Justice’s. It was all to keep him safe. Why couldn’t he understand that?
“I want us to both be okay, Justice, not just me. I feel like you are going to do anything to keep me safe and sacrificing yourself is on the table if something goes wrong. I don’t feel that way, so it is different.”
Allie had always liked how honest he was, and that time was no exception. He didn’t mince words, he just got right to the heart of things, so that they could go further. “If it was you or me, I would always choose you, Allie. You’re right about that.”
She sighed and knew all along that was how he felt. Hearing it though, just made her realize that she was right all along, in that circumstance that was nothing good. “It’s not going to end like that, Justice. Let’s get our stuff together and get out of here. We can do it now and get out of here clean. I know that we can do it. I have faith in both of us.”
Justice didn’t look sure, but Allie was convinced that she was going to have to be sure enough for them both. If she wasn’t going to make it all work out by turning herself in, then it was time for them to run. The question was, where?
Chapter 24
Justice
Allie was convinced that they were going to run in the night, and everything was going to be okay. That wasn’t going to happen though, not on Justice’s watch. He wasn’t going to give her up and there was no way that she was going to take their baby back to that man. She wasn’t going back to him either. She hadn’t told him much of what went on with Bishop, but he’d heard enough. Justice knew that it was bad enough, by the look in her eyes. He hated the look he saw, absolutely hated it.
So, Justice suggested that Allie take a shower before they take off, because it might be a while before they had a chance again. Allie asked him to come with her and for a moment he really wanted to, but Justice had more important things to do. He tried to think about how it was all going to work out and before she got in there, he gave her a deep kiss and pulled her tight. Allie wanted to know what was going on. He just shrugged and told her that she looked extra beautiful that day. Allie ate it up and Justice didn't feel too much guilt over it, because it was the truth. She did look ravishing.
As soon as she was gone in the bathroom, Justice checked what was going on outside. He locked the door behind him and put something heavy in front of it, so that she couldn't get out. She would in time, of course, the log wouldn’t keep her in forever, but Justice didn't need long at all. He just wanted to do a perimeter run and see who was out there. A small part of him hoped that he would finally meet Bishop, the one who’d hurt his wife. Justice had one thought when he thought of the man. If he was dead, Allie would be his completely because her mate would no longer be living. Naturally, that wasn't a very settling thought to take such relief from another’s demise, but Justice couldn’t stop the feeling. He was willing to do damn near anything to keep Allie. He really had no compunction when it came to her and her safety. Whatever he had to do, no matter how hard it seemed, Justice wasn't going to let anything stand in his way. He had made that mistake before and Allie had been taken from him. Justice wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.
When he got outside, he immediately shifted and started to pick up a couple other heartbeats besides the one inside the house he had just left. They had gotten to a pretty secluded place, that while it was in walking distance from things, it was a longer walk than normal and most of the yard was woods. It was the reason that they had taken the place to begin with. It felt closer to nature.
Now, he wished he was further from the town and the people. He wanted to be a little further out now because of what he was going to have to do, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. He knew that unless he got the jump on them, there would be sound, and he would not know how many there were. He had to sneak up behind them and kill them quick. Justice had trained for that sort of thing, but it didn't mean that it was something he ever wanted to do. He didn't want to kill random people that he knew nothing about, but he had to remind himself that it was necessary. While the fact that the people he was going to kill were merely soldiers like him, Justice couldn't go soft. He had to do what was necessary and he had to do it quickly because Allie was going to be out of the bathroom soon, and she would be looking for him.
Justice did what he had to do. There were no less than five men outside their place, and he walked away lucky, because only one of them even saw it coming. Even more lucky was that the one that saw him coming in was the last, so he didn't have to worry about the others coming after him. He still waited though, several moments of listening and willing his heart to stop beating so hard, so that he could actually hear something. It was almost like his ears weren't even working at the moment. There was too much for him to concentrate on anything.
He heard something near the house and ran back thinking that someone had gotten through his defenses, but it was Allie in her towel. He whispered for her to get back in the house and she looked him over and then agreed without much talk back. For Allie that was surprising, but Justice had blood on him and that was likely part of it.
When they were both back inside, she couldn’t stay silent any longer. “What are you doing out there?”
He lied and told her that he was just trying to see if he saw anyone. She asked him if he had, and Justice gave another noncommittal shrug. She didn't need to know the truth of most of it. Justice told Allie pretty much everything, but not this. Her knowing that several people had been murdered by his own hands did not seem to be that necessary for her to know. Why would it be? What would she do about it anyway? It wasn’t like there was something she could do to go back and change what had happened. Justice stuck with the decision, and he went back in with her. Justice felt better about it all but knew that they had to get out of there. Soon, there would be more of Bishop’s men and then he wouldn’t know if they were safe. She wanted them to be, but that didn’t seem to be something that they were good at.
They left and no one tried to stop them. Allie wondered aloud several times if Bishop had been for real or if he was just trying to scare her. Justice didn’t tell her that he knew Bishop was a man of his word. She didn’t need to know that particular ugly truth.
“We are we going?”
Allie shrugged. “Anywhere, Justice, as long as we are together. Right?”
Justice agreed, even if it was hard to imagine it going any other way but badly. Again, he wondered if it was meant to be. If it was, why was it so damn hard?
