8. Fable

8

Fable

A fter a quick shower, I’m sitting on the couch with some pencils, an eraser, and some paper. It’s just regular printer paper, but I am doing something with art for the first time in days, and I have to admit it makes me happy.

Although, I’m not sure if that has more to do with the fantastic sex. I glance over my shoulder at Leo, who gives me a fantastic smile. I can’t believe that stunning man loves me. Or at least he thinks he loves me. I want to sketch him so badly, but I have to concentrate on this task first.

The moment I put pencil to paper, I get lost in the process. It’s always been like this for me. Whenever I would get upset or worried about a situation, Destiny would distract me with a suggestion to paint or sculpt or just anything in my world. It always worked.

By the time I look up, I realize it’s been a while because Leo is sitting in the easy chair to my right, tapping on his laptop. I didn’t even hear him move.

It’s darker in the cabin, but I know it isn’t because of the setting sun. This has the feel of clouds, and I look toward the window. There’s a gentle rain tapping against the glass. One of my favorite things is rain.

I turn back to Leo and find him watching me.

“I was about to make you take a break. You’ve been at it for thirty minutes.”

I roll my shoulders and groan. He sets his computer on the coffee table and slips behind me on the couch. The moment his hands touch me and start massaging me, I let my head fall forward. God, that feels good. Tense muscles relax as he works his fingers down my back then up to my neck.

“Are you done?” he asks.

And all of a sudden, I don’t want him to look. Don’t get me wrong, I want him to get the bad guy, but this is the first time anyone other than Destiny has really had a look at my work. She loves me, so she could have lied.

“Yeah.”

I shift away, but he pulls me back, so my back is against his chest. I hold the picture up. He studies it.

“You said you’re not that good at drawing.”

“No. I said I preferred painting.” I knew it. I’m going to let Destiny have it when I see her again.

“This is,” he said, taking the paper from me, “fucking amazing! God, you’re good.”

I rise up and turn around to face him. “Are you telling me the truth?”

He holds up my drawing. “Are you kidding me? This is beautiful. I mean, not the subject matter, but it’s really, really good. The way you shaded it, all of it. It’s like you breathed life into a drawing.”

Joy sparkles through me, and I can’t hold back the grin. “Thank you. I had a little trouble getting his nose just right.”

“Do you know his name?”

“I remember Papa calling him Gregor. That’s all I know.”

He nods, then leans forward to give me a kiss. He rises from the couch. The casual affection is hard to take. My sister is the only other human who has ever shown me affection, so it takes some getting used to when Leo does it.

He puts my picture down on the table, then pulls out his phone, snapping a few photos of it.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m texting this to Frank to see if this guy has been reported nearby.”

I nod as he has a text exchange with Frank. I walk over to the window and stare out the window. I know that we have to be close to where Destiny and I own a house. We’ve never been to it, but from the look of the area, it’s got to be close by.

Thinking about my sister and our plans sends a wave of sadness over me. I need to believe that she is safe. My life would be dull and unhappy if something happened to her.

“Hey,” Leo says softly, his arms coming around me and hugging my body back against his. “What’s wrong?”

“Just thinking about Destiny. I hope she’s okay.”

“Do you think she’s still in New York?”

“I have no idea. She never answered the email I sent. So I don’t know what happened.”

He turns me around to face him. “We’ll find her and get her to safety. She’s an adult, so if we have to, we’ll use the courts to get her out of the house.”

I nod as his phone starts ringing.

He frowns but clicks it on, keeping one arm wrapped around me.

“Yeah, what do you have?”

He’s quiet for a while, and I hear Frank speaking, but I can’t make out the words.

“They’re sure?”

I frown as he listens to Frank. “Okay, why don’t you get a picture of him, unless his face is really bad.” Silence again as he listens to his deputy. “What do you mean there’s a man in town asking about her? Did he ask for her by name?”

Then, he listens again, and I want to tear my hair out. Hearing a man is looking for me in town has my anxiety level rising, but I hold myself in check.

“Okay. Take a picture of him and send that to me along with the other picture.”

He hangs up.

“What happened?”

“A guy who looks like your drawing is in the morgue in Prince William county. He had no ID, no registration on the car can be found because the VIN has been scratched off. Cash, clothes, a burner phone that was damaged in the wreck, and a gun. That’s all that was in the car.”

“And so he could just be dead. What was that about another man looking for me?”

“Some man showed up in town might curious as to who the woman was who had found a couple days ago. They’ve detained him.”

His phone goes off again, and he holds it up.

“Now, Angel, this man is pretty banged up from the wreck, but he does look like your drawing.”

“Show me.”

When I see him, I gasp, but not from his appearance but from the memory of him chasing me through the woods. The terror I felt returns, turning my blood to ice. I can’t fight the shiver that hits me, and it shames me that I’m not stronger.

“I’m sorry,” he says, pulling me against him and pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“It’s him.”

“Okay. And now, there’s this other guy that showed up.”

He shows me another picture. This one shows a middle-aged man who is pretty attractive for an older man. What was it Destiny called men like him? A silver fox.

“I don’t know him, but I want to talk to him.”

“Why?”

“Maybe if I heard his voice, I would know who he was. It might trigger something.”

He doesn’t look convinced at all.

“It’s not like he can hurt me. You’ll be there and Frank.” His frown turns darker, so I hurry on. “I didn’t always see the men who would come to our house, but I could hear them speaking to Papa sometimes.”

He sighs. “Fine. But the first sign of trouble, and we’re out of there.”

I nod and rise to my tiptoes to kiss him. Of course, as always, nothing is that simple. He deepens the kiss, his hands going to my waist. He breaks away from the kiss and lifts me up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold.

“Leo! You said we’re going to the jail to see this guy.”

He drops me on the bed and smiles down at me. God, this man…he’s become my whole world. It’s amazing that I only met him less than seventy-two hours ago, but I can’t imagine my life without him.

“I said we’re going, but he can wait.”

I can’t deny him. I don’t think I ever would, but definitely not when he looks at me like that.

He peels my clothes off, and as he’s kissing his way down my body, I decide I definitely agree. My problems can wait.