Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
At the very moment he thought he might burst out of his skin, tempted to break their rules and begin wandering, a heavy knock landed on his door. In the hallway stood a man approximately the size of a refrigerator. Edward tilted his head up to meet the man’s eyes. “They grow them big in Idaho.”
The Fridge didn’t crack a smile. “Miss Gylden wants to see you.”
It was nearly four in the morning; he didn’t bother getting dressed. In bare feet, shorts, and a T-shirt, he followed the Fridge to Ren’s room, where the guard knocked twice, swiped a card, and let Edward in, firmly closing the door behind him.
Ren’s room was a mirror image of his. There was a sitting room, a kitchen, a bathroom off the entryway, and then, through a set of double doors, a bedroom with a king-size bed, plus a master bath. He wanted to make a joke about how handy a room this size would have been out on the road, but any humor dried up when he saw her, sitting in the middle of the bed. She looked gaunt and tiny, and visibly shaken.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” Of the million or so questions he wanted to ask, there was only one that really mattered. “How are you holding up?”
She sniffed, wiping her nose, and then looked at him with a bleakness that made him hurt. He knew that look. It was awful. He’d worn it a time or two himself. “They asked if there was anyone I wanted them to call or bring to the hotel,” she said. “I realized I didn’t have anyone. Not a single person.”
Edward walked to the foot of the bed and knelt on the floor, resting his arms on the mattress and his chin on his folded arms. “You have me.”
Her face tightened in anguish, and he watched as she fought through the confusion Gloria must have seeded. “Do I? I felt like I did. But then I didn’t know…if I really knew you.”
And right then was when he knew how Gloria got her away from Atlanta. She’d found something out about him and used it to scare Ren off.
“I get why you’re questioning everything,” he said, gently. “I think that’s the most normal reaction you could possibly have right now. But for me, everything that happened between us was real. It changed me, and I’m not leaving until you tell me to.”
She swallowed, blinking down to her lap.
“Do you want me to leave?”
A tear fell on her calf, and she rubbed it away. “No.”
“Tell me what you need from me,” he said. “I’ll do anything.”
She nodded, and kept nodding, like she was trying to find her voice. “I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered. “I can’t sleep. I’m scared. I’m so sad.” A sob tore from her throat. “I feel lost.”
“I know. Life threw it all at you in one day.”
“Will you stay with me?”
“I’ll do whatever you want.”
“But I need to know everything.”
“I know.” They gazed steadily at each other for a long beat. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
EDWARD
The first night, they started with his life up to his arrest. By the time they fell asleep, facing each other on her bed, Ren knew all about his foster mother, Mary. He even showed her a dorky photo of him in his first ugly Christmas sweater, though he’d be willing to bet it wasn’t meant to be ironic. She knew that he was placed with Mary when he was seven, that his life with her and her two sons wasn’t perfect, but it was good. She knew that he was loved, and that Mary had begun the long, arduous process to adopt him.
Ren also now knew that when he was thirteen, the lease on their apartment was up and wouldn’t be renewed; the building was being torn down to build luxury condominiums. Mary had to pack up the three boys and move. But because she no longer had the rent-controlled two-bedroom apartment, she and her two biological sons had to move to a smaller space, and Edward’s foster placement with her wasn’t reapproved; the adoption process was halted.
By the time they fell asleep, Ren also knew how he’d spiraled, running away from his temporary group home and living on the streets. She knew that he’d stolen a car, not realizing there was a gun inside. And how when he was fourteen, he’d been sentenced to eleven months in a juvenile correction facility.
“I think that’s enough for tonight,” she said after that, and in under a minute, she was fast asleep.
They slept until well past ten. By then the news about Ren had broken everywhere—the front page of every major newspaper, the top story on every news channel. An abducted girl found after twenty years made a pretty splashy headline. They were told by their security team to stay in the hotel.