“You’ve never told me anything about your family, little girl.”
I wasn’t sure that the bank was really the right place to talk about anything so personal, but if the last couple of days had taught me anything, it was to relish the present moment.
Nobody knew what was coming next.
“Yeah.”Her gaze dropped.“There’s not much to say, really.”
“What happened to them when the new regime took hold?”The melancholy in her gaze warned me it might be nothing positive.
“I don’t know what happened to Dad,” she admitted in a whisper.“And I know that Mum got out of the UK just before the whole country went to shit.”She blew out a breath.“I’ve always been thankful for that, to be honest.She never had to endure the camp, but I don’t know where she is.”
“I’m sorry.”I seemed to have gone from a man who never felt the need to apologize for anything to one who couldn’t stop, but if anyone should be repentant for the dreadful things that had happened, it was me.“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“One younger sister.”Her voice was barely audible.“She left with Mum.It’s been just me ever since.”
“Not anymore.”That much I could guarantee.“You’ll never be alone anymore, Caroline.”
“Thank you.”She closed the distance between us and rested her head against my chest.“I’d be lost without you, Adam Clément.”
***
Caroline
HE COLLECTED THE VASTquantities of cash and his new passport, bundling everything into our bag before zipping the pack up.It was worrying, walking around a city with that much money with us, but I couldn’t deny it was liberating to know we had access to that kind of cash.
“First stop is to buy a new phone.”
I had the sense he was more talking to himself than to me, his gaze perusing the plush interior of the viewing room as he went on.
“Then we can find somewhere to stay.”
“Maybe an Airbnb?”I suggested as he slung the bag over his shoulder.“That could be booked in your name only, and if they ask for identification, you’ll be able to produce it.”
“Very smart.”His lips curled.“Good thinking, little girl.You’re right.Fancy hotels will be off the table without you having documentation, and honestly, I’d feel better staying somewhere quiet and out of the way for a while.”
“Agreed.”I moved toward him and reached for his hand.
Being there had been more emotionally trying than I’d anticipated, and even though dealing with my rising anxiety was challenging, there had been clarity in the remedy he offered.While everything else around me was volatile and out of my control, there was still Adam, the man who seemed to have officially become my life raft, and when his fingers entwined with mine, my mind was quieted.I’d been reticent to believe his passion could stretch beyond our initial escape, but he’d sounded so sincere when he sought to comfort me that it left me wondering...
Maybe I could trust him.
Maybe he was the one I’d persuaded myself didn’t really exist.A man who would love me for who I was, without demanding I change for him.
It was as though, after years of fear and insecurity, I could finally rest my head on something tangible, and I liked it more than I was willing to admit out loud.
“So?”I glanced toward the door.“Do you know where to buy a phone in this city, Sir?”
“We’ll ask Claude.”He chuckled at my change of tack and tugged me against his body.“But if he can’t help, we’ll figure it out.We always do.”
I smiled as he steered me out of the room.For two people who’d absconded from Fortorus, no words had ever been truer.
