“We need to know more before we do anything,” he said. “Running right now won’t do us any good, considering our lack of information.”
“Lack of information? Eric’s coming here. What more do you need to know?” Her voice rose an octave.
Once again, she turned, walking to the stairs. This time, Cillian reached out and grasped her wrist. She stiffened. He released her, and she backed away.
“We have an idea of where he is,” Cillian said.
“Great! I just won’t go there. Problem solved.”
“But we don’t know if he’s there for sure,” Cillian continued patiently. “At the moment, we need to evaluate what’s going on and do some scouting before we make any plans about leaving or staying. It’s for the best.”
“I need to leave, at the very least,” she said. “Please. He’s going to come after me if he knows I’m here.”
“He’s not going to go after you,” Cillian said. “Staying here in the house will keep you safe.”
“No, it won’t. Not with Eric.” Her voice wavered. “He’ll find me. He’s not going to let me go again. If I leave now, maybe I can get far enough away that he won’t be able to track me. I can come back once everything blows over.”
Amber started pacing across the living room, pushing her hair back from her forehead, her eyes constantly flicking toward the door as if expecting Eric to burst into the house at any minute. Cillian could hear her heart pounding from here, as fast as a drum line, and he could smell the fear mixing with her scent. He hadn’t seen her look like this since the day he had found her with Eric.
Pushing himself from the couch, he walked over and intercepted her. He grasped her arm and got her to stop pacing. She stiffened for the briefest of moments at his touch, then eased when her eyes met his.
“I know it’s scary,” he said. “But we need to stay put for now.”
“But—”
“Imagine we’re wrong,” Cillian said. “And I send you straight to Eric by mistake. I’m never going to be able to live with myself.”
“Imagine he finds out where I live and comes here,” Amber said. She wrenched herself away from him and took several steps back. “Could you live with yourself then? He knows who you are, Cillian. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for him to figure out where you live.”
Cillian sighed, trying to keep an even tone, wanting to soothe her, to ease her fear. “Just give me a couple of days first,” he said. “At least until we have more information. The house is safe. He won’t be able to—”
“You don’t know that,” she cut him off.
“Amber, I know you’re upset, but you need to calm down and think straight for a minute,” Cillian said. “You’re letting him get in your head, and it’s impacting your judgment.”
She walked over to him and grabbed his shirt, looking up at him with pleading eyes. “Please,” she said. “Let me leave. You can stay here, but just let me take a vacation somewhere until this is all over. If he’s coming, I want to be as far away as possible.”
“Not just yet.” He took her wrist, his thumb stroking the back of her palm. His other hand went to the small of her back. “Give me a couple of days, all right?”
She shook her head. “It might be too late by then.”
His hand rested on her shoulder, trying to ground her.
“Running away isn’t going to solve all of your problems,” he said, still trying to keep his tone gentle.
Amber let out a harsh, bitter laugh that sounded strange coming out of her, as if she’d been possessed. “It would solve this problem,” she said.
“Like it did last time?” he asked.
Her eyes flashed in warning. He didn’t like making the jab, but he needed to make her understand.
“I get that you want to leave,” he said. “Trust me. I completely understand why you would want to. But you can’t keep running. Every time you run, you’re giving him power over you.”
“Every time I run, I put distance between myself and him,” she said. “If I leave now, he might not find me. I can probably get several towns over before he gets here and starts looking for me.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Cillian repeated.
She scoffed, some of her fire returning in her anger. “In that case, I’m leaving on my own,” she said and started marching toward the garage door.
