“He’ll be fine, Wren! I just tased him!” I manage between breaths as I try to keep her arm from cutting off my airway.
She freezes, my words finally halting her assault as she glances over at Jason—no, not Jason. They call him Jagger.
“Who the fuck are you?” Peter demands, his voice edged in anger.
“I’m Elias.”
I feel her head snap back toward me as her arm slowly starts to ease up on my neck. “Elias?” she whispers in disbelief.
I glance over my shoulder at her, softening my tone. “Hi, sweetheart. Miss me?”
Her arm loosens from around my throat, and she slides down to the floor. The air between us shifts instantly. No longer is she angry and filled with rage. Instead, it’s shock, pain, recognition, and disbelief that’s shining in her eyes.
“You’re the asshole that left her!” Another voice growls. That must be Dexter Sutherland.
I ignore him and turn to face her fully. Up close, finally seeing her with my own eyes after seven years… it hits me like a freight train. She’s the same, and yet completely different. Still as beautiful as ever. But she looks stronger, like she’s no longer hiding.
I reach up and cup her face gently, searching her eyes. She grabs my forearms, trembling with questions. “How are you here right now? Where have you been?”
“We can chat later. Right now, we need to get you all out of here before the feds arrive.” I grab her hand, tugging her toward the hall, not willing to let her out of my sight.
That gets everyone moving.
We hit the far wall, where a painting of a deer hangs. I swing it open, revealing the hidden digital pad. “You led the feds to us?” Someone accuses. It must be Sylvester.
I sigh, pressing my palm to the scanner, wishing I didn’t have to explain all of this right now. We needed to get out of here. “I didn’t lead them here,” I say, waiting for the pad to accept my print. “You did.”
“What does that mean?” Peter asks in anger.
The pad beeps, and the wall groans, splitting open to reveal the hidden door.
“This is an FBI safe house,” I explain as I pull it open and step through. “They knew about your presence the second you opened the door. The only reason they haven’t stormed the place yet is that I sent out a fake signal indicating it’d already been checked.”
The others follow, wide-eyed, as the hidden room is revealed, a small armory of supplies and weapons.
Peter whistles low. “Holy shit balls.”
I move fast, grabbing duffel bags from a bin and tossing them onto the table. “Any minute now, they’ll realize that signal’s a fake. And when they do, they won’t care what you have to say. You four will be back behind bars before you can blink, and they’ll arrest Wren for harboring fugitives.”
“Like fuck they will!” Peter snaps, grabbing a gun off the wall.
“Help me fill these bags,” I order, pointing to the weapons. “We need to move quickly.”
To my surprise, they obey. There’s no trust in their eyes yet, but at least they aren’t trying to kill me anymore.
I catch Wren glancing at me between movements, uncertainty shadowing her face. She’s trying to figure out if I’m the same person she used to know. The best friend who grew up with her, the only person she could be real with.
“Okay, this will have to do. We need to get out of here,” I say, slinging one of the loaded bags over my shoulder. “We’re exiting here.” I nod toward the narrow side door leading out the side of the house.
“We need to grab our bags,” Dex says.
“Be quick,” I tell him.
Three of them rush off, and I’m left alone with Wren and Sly, and he watches me like he’s ready to tear me apart.
“Elias, I don’t understand. How do you know all of this?” Wren asks.
I meet her gaze. She deserves the truth. “Because I’m one of them.”
