Page 13 of Claiming Liberty

It’s too big of a risk to move right now on my own, but I need a plan. Fast. Much faster than a month.

But not yet. Right now, I need to push my emotions aside and recharge so I can think rationally. Which means getting to Peter’s friends’ house to get some sleep.

I turn around, hugging my arms to my chest as I walk to the bathroom. As soon as I look in the mirror, I understand what Peter meant about me needing to clean up.

It isn’t just my hoodie splattered with my husband’s blood. It’s my face too. I lift my hand to my cheek and poke at the rusty crust. Maybe a normal person would be repulsed, immediately slapping water on their face or grimacing in horror. I think a few months ago, I would’ve been that woman. But I’ve changed. I’ve been a whore, a slave, a runaway, and now a rebel.

I stare at myself in the mirror and watch my lips curve into a smile.

2

ANGEL

Irun my hand over two days’ worth of stubble while leaning forward in the SUV. My knee bounces, my heel clicking against the floorboard. I wonder if Peter can hear it, can feel the nervous energy I’m putting off.

We just landed on the island, and he’s driving me to the boat dock. Sitting in the back behind the passenger seat, I’d have a diagonal view of him if I looked that way. As it is, I face the window, my mind registering nothing we pass as a hundred thoughts race through my mind.

A ding coming from my pocket makes me flinch, and my spine straightens as I pull my phone out.

It’s a text from Julia.Home safe?

I text back a quick ‘almost’ and watch as three dots pop up on Julia’s side of the thread.

See you in a few weeks?

My tongue slides over my top teeth as I stare at the screen. Before leaving Spain, I promised Julia I’d be back to visit for a few days, and I’d meant it. I’ve been absent for so long, believing I was content, but seeing Sam and Adán, seeingJulia,made it difficult to picture myself spending the rest of my life on the island.

I never planned to spend my life here, but I hadn’t seen any better options. Now, I do. I have so much to do before I can consider leaving, so much to discuss with Sawyer, but my mind is leaning that way more and more.

But that isn’t what’s at the forefront right now.

See you then.

I drop my phone in my lap and lean back against the seat, my head turning to Peter. He's as statuesque as ever with his tight muscles stiffly holding the wheel. Normally, I like the guy. He’s quiet and leaves me alone with my thoughts. Right now, he’s infuriating.

“Peter, I need to know where she is,” I say, my voice somehow both pleading and authoritative.

“You asked me not to tell you, sir.”

My eyes narrow at him, and my lips pinch. It’s the same answer he’s given me since we left Spain. I asked him not to tell me where he took Lib, but that was before Robert Gaumond stopped answering his phone.

My knee starts bouncing again. “I need to know that she’s safe.”

“She’s safe.”

“Peter.”

He glances at me in the rearview mirror, his eyes uninterested. His disinterest comes in handy when I’m discussing sensitive information in front of him, but if I’d known he wasthisrigid, I would’ve thought better of swearing him to secrecy.

“Just tell me, did she go to New York?”

“You asked me not to tell you where I took her, sir.”

“Robert Gaumond is unreachable,” I grit out, my tone filling with impatience. “If you took her to New York, she could be in trouble.”

Sawyer could know.

My chest tightens at that thought. If she went to Robert and he told Sawyer… She’s already dead.