Chapter 10

The rain tapped against the wooden roof as Elijah held me tightly in his arms.

He hadn’t said anything else after I made my revelation. I wasn’t sure if he was handling it as well as I hoped he would, or if he was busy concocting a plan to leave me.

Either way, being in his arms right now was the only thing keeping me from hanging myself off the side of the cabin now that he knew just how grotesque I really was.

“What now?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.

“What do you mean, Mais?”

“Are you going to leave?”

He scoffed as he continued to run the tips of his fingers up and down my spine. Almost as if he were offended that I would ever think so lowly of his love for me.

“No. Is that what’s had you so somber all afternoon? You thought I would leave you?”

I nodded as I buried my face into his shoulder and did my best not to cry.

“Why would I? Because of something someone else did to you? Nope. Sorry to break it to you, Maisie Girl, you’re stuck with me forever,” he said as he gave me a gentle squeeze.

“But what about my hug?” I bravely asked in a quiet tone.

“Forever, Mais. As in this life and in the next,” he replied wryly with a chuckle.

I let out a relieved breath as I inhaled his scent to help calm my thoughts.

And then, instantly, I felt ashamed.

The thoughts I had, the internal voice I heard, it was all from me. Elijah heard so many fucking things from so many monsters, and he still managed to handle life better than I did.

“Partly.”

“I knew there was something else. Tell me what it is, Mais,” he prodded softly as fingers stopped moving midway up my spine.

I shook my head.

I wouldn’t talk about it.

Not now.

“Do you think Mr. Mike got far?” I questioned, changing the subject.

“I don’t know,” Elijah replied as he blew out his breath. “But wherever he goes won’t be far enough.”

I smiled against his skin, and he ruffled my hair.

“I know you’re upset that he took what I gave you, but I took something from him too when he wasn’t looking,” he continued mischievously.

“Oh? And what’s that?” I asked.

“His driver’s license.”

I looked up at Elijah and smiled which caused him to grin in return.

He held it out to me so that I could read where our layover on the way to Mama and Papa’s would be. With a nod, I handed it back to him.

“Kingston,” I said to him softly.

If Mr. Mike thought that he could leave us behind so easily, then I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when we knocked on his door.

I wonder if he loves his family enough to die for them.

___

I groaned and rolled onto my side when I heard Elijah moving around the room. It wasn’t unusual; he was a restless soul who never got much sleep.

Folding the side of the pillow down over my ears, I tried to get comfortable enough to fall back into the deep sleep I had finally succumbed to.

And the longer I laid there, the more I wondered when his last full night of sleep actually was.

When he came back for me.

The realization should have been enough to weigh me down with even more guilt than I had already felt, but he’d be damn angry if I blamed myself for something like that.

When I heard the sound of his footsteps shuffling toward the bed, I let out a relieved sigh and hoped it meant that he’d try to get some more sleep.

But it was the sound of his uneven breathing that caused my body to start trembling with concern.

I opened my eyes and almost shut them again immediately.

Next to my bed stood my beloved, mad devil with an axe in hand, and was more than likely debating if I was one of the monsters that haunted his delicate mind.