by Dana Mentink
“Give it to me, Thea.” He moved back enough to grab her hand. His fingers wrapped around hers. “Give it to me and I will give you back more than a piece of metal. We will get through this and you will have your family back.”
She pulled her hand from his and held it to her chest. Over her heart.
Her shoulders slumped and she relaxed. He held out his hand and slowly she placed the warm medallion in his palm. Bits of snow fell off her gloves, melting against the warmth of it.
A strong desire rushed through him to take her back in his arms, hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right, but he couldn’t. He’d already wasted enough time.
He left her standing, walked to the shed and grabbed a sledgehammer he’d seen earlier. Thea stood near a large tree stump used for chopping wood. He walked toward her and placed the medallion on its surface, pausing for only a moment. The need to keep her safe and the desire to not hurt her warred in his mind.
“You don’t have to watch.” He hoped she would agree and leave him to do what must be done.
“Yes, I do,” she replied.
She would be angry. She would be heartbroken. But she would be alive. He brought the heavy hammer crashing down, sending the medallion into splintered pieces between them.
“They won’t be able to track us now.”
She stood frozen in place. He couldn’t look into her eyes. Whether she blamed him or not, he’d allowed her brother to be shot, and then he’d taken away the one material possession she had to remind her of her family.
“Now we leave?” she asked after a few minutes had ticked away.
“Yes,” he said, staring down at the remnants of her life he had crushed.
“Just let me grab my bag and tell Earl and Lizzie goodbye.”
Thea didn’t wait for a reply. She turned away from him and walked slowly to the house. He watched her back as she moved past the snowman they had just built. She stopped. For a moment he thought she might reach out to it. But she didn’t.
He had spoiled the memory of this place for her. She deserved good memories. Now he’d taken it all from her. Telling himself over and over in his mind that it had to be done for her safety couldn’t erase the pain in her eyes.
At least now there would be distance between them. For a few moments he’d thought that there could be more to their relationship than him keeping her safe and getting her to Denver. He’d thought wrong. He was not the sort of man a princess could be interested in. Just like the puppy search she’d told him about. Not just any man was fit for a princess.
He was a stray. He had no pedigree or papers. Any feelings she’d had before this moment were born from gratitude toward him and his family. She wasn’t grateful now.
It was for the best. She deserved better than anything he could give her, and he definitely didn’t deserve a woman as amazing as her.
NINE
They were on the road again.
She knew the medallion had only been an object. He was right to destroy it. No matter how fast or far they ran, they would always find her if they could track her that easily. She was a fool for not thinking of it sooner.
But her heart ached.
Giving it to him knowing it would be destroyed had left a tiny hole in her heart. It was all she had left of her father, of her family. As much as she knew he was right, that it had to be done, her heart still broke with the finality of it all. With it, her past was destroyed. All that lay ahead was an uncertain future.
God knew the plans He had for her. Her faith had taught her to trust even in moments of doubt. But she couldn’t help but wonder if she would be in more danger once the truth of her existence was revealed. Thea focused on the passing scenery in an attempt to take her mind off the loss and uncertainty. The roads were still barely drivable. She wasn’t sure if the road conditions really constituted “cleared,” but this was probably as good as it was going to get until the temperatures rose enough to melt some of the ice and snow. Travel was a little faster than it had been the last time they were on the road, but not much. The plows had gotten a lot of the drifts off the roads, but there were still spots covered in packed snow and ice.
The beat-up old truck was a much bumpier ride than Ronin’s car had been. Thankfully, he stuck to mostly state highways, and for the past few hours they’d traveled along an interstate. Ronin seemed secure in the thought that they wouldn’t be tracked or found as easily now, but she noticed that he kept a close eye on any vehicles they came across.
She hadn’t said much to him since they’d left the farmhouse. It wasn’t because she blamed him. She just had so much to think through now that she’d learned more of the danger she faced. There were so many things she hadn’t known, so many pieces to the puzzle of what had happened to her family. She had no idea why she hadn’t thought to ask all the questions sooner. She’d only done what she was told.
Now for the first time in years she felt she was regaining control of her life. She might not have all the answers, but she knew someone who had most of them.
“If it was that easy to track me and find me, why are they just now coming for me?”
Ronin glanced her way at the question, then quickly back at the road ahead.
“Why now?” she asked again. She reached over and turned down the music that had been playing the past few hundred miles.
“There was no need to track you when everyone thought you dead. The trackers were deactivated until recently.”
“I was safe because I was dead.” Thea sighed and went back to looking out the window. It was so odd to think everyone had for so long thought of her as dead. In a way she supposed she had been. She’d been hidden away, existing but not really living, for so many years. If it hadn’t been for her faith and the knowledge that God had been with her through it all, she didn’t know if she would have come through as the person she was now.
“Yes,” Ronin replied. “Only a handful of people knew you and your brother weren’t killed in the fire. When the country became restless, the truth was leaked.”
“By who?” she asked.
“We don’t know.” Ronin’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “My brother Jarrod is working on it.”
“What about Leo?” she asked quickly. Guilt clutched at her heart. If she had a tracker, Leo would, as well. She should have thought of him sooner. “Won’t they be tracking him, too?”
“Yes.” Ronin exhaled heavily. “But he is well protected, and I will make a call. He will be okay.”
“Reactivating the tracking devices would have had to be done by someone of high ranking in the Royal Guard or by the king himself.” Thea’s mind rushed through all the possible suspects. “Who would want us dead?”
“The person who killed your father, for one. They would be worried you might remember something from that night. The king or someone who supports him, for another.”
“That gives us a lot of suspects, then, doesn’t it?” It seemed hopeless the person behind it all would ever be captured. “How will we ever catch whoever is behind it all?”
“We won’t.” Ronin glanced over at her. He knew what she was thinking. “Your only concern when we arrive will be what jewels to wear with what dress.”
Thea squirmed in her seat. She didn’t like it one bit that he could tell what she was thinking so easily. But if he thought she would just stand by and play dress up while he hunted down whoever was trying to kill her, he was wrong.
“Will Leo be in Denver?” Thea changed the subject. It wouldn’t do any good to argue with him about what she would or wouldn’t do on their arrival. The more she revealed of her thoughts, the more he’d know how determined she was to be a part of ensuring her father’s killer was finally brought to justice. The fact that Ronin’s father had been imprisoned for all these years was unfathomable. He would be freed as soon as she had the power to do so.
Leo would help her with that, she was sure. He would be just as appalled about what had happen
ed. She couldn’t wait to finally be a family with him again.
“He will be there eventually.” His words were like ice water on the hope that had been building inside her.
“But you told me you would take me to Leo.” Doubts assailed her. Had he only used Leo as a ploy to gain her cooperation and trust? Was she foolish in believing everything he’d told her was the truth? For all she knew Leo could be dead. It could all be a lie.
“I want to see Leo.” Thea spoke the words as calmly as she could over the thudding of her racing heart.
“I told you I would take you to Leo and I will.” His abrupt answer only fueled her uncertainty. He glanced at her quickly. “It’s not safe to have you both in the same place at the same time,” he continued. “We have to keep you separate until the threat is eliminated.”
Thea took a deep breath. She didn’t like his answer, but it made sense.
“Can I at least talk to him?”
“As soon as it’s possible.” Ronin nodded. “You have my word.”
She studied his profile. Was his word enough? She’d only known him twenty-four hours. Was she a complete fool for putting her total trust in him?
“Are you planning on stopping anytime soon?” she asked. She needed a break. Maybe distance from him, even if for only a few minutes, would clear her head. Not to mention how good getting up and walking would feel after hours of being in the car.
“There’s a rest stop up ahead. I can pull over there if you like.”
“I’d like that very much.”
Thea went back to watching out the window and as soon as the truck pulled to a stop, she opened her door. She knew he’d be around within moments to open it for her. Doors, however, were one thing she could do on her own.
“I’ll be right outside if you need me,” he shouted as she made her way to the ladies’ restroom at the side of the building.
The room hadn’t been cleaned recently. Cobwebs filled every corner. The lights were dim, maybe so no one would notice the grime in the toilet bowls and around the edges of the sinks and faucets. She wasn’t prissy by any means, but she was afraid to touch anything.
Thea stared into the mirror, but a blurry reflection stared back. The mirrors weren’t even made of glass. They were more like a polished aluminum.
Thea washed her hands quickly. The sooner she was out of here, the better.
She reached with her elbow to press the button on the hand dryer, hoping it would be in working order. The hum of the blower filled the small room. Something scurried from the shadows, making a path over her foot.
Thea shrieked, jumping back. Her eyes darted around every corner, searching for whatever it was that she’d frightened out of hiding.
She stepped back slowly, watching and waiting for it to jump out at her again.
She backed all the way to the door and then flung it open and ran straight into a hard body. She shrieked again.
“Are you okay?” Ronin asked. “I heard you scream.” His voice was filled with worry.
Relief flooded her.
Foolish or not, she trusted him. He made her feel safe and protected. Even if that protection was only from small, furry creatures.
“Yes, it was just a mouse…or a rat.” It could have been a large bug, actually, but a rat sounded so much more frightening, like something that would make someone scream.
“A mouse?” he questioned.
“Or a rat.” She moved behind him, using his body as a shield in case the offending vermin were to follow her outside and lunge at her. “You know they carry disease. It could be rabid.”
“A rabid rat?”
“Are you laughing at me?” She really didn’t have to ask. She could hear the laughter in his voice. It brought a smile to her heart despite the circumstances, despite the fact that only a few moments before she had been so unsure about him. She’d been silly. He was only doing what he felt was right; deep down she knew that, even if she didn’t agree with him. The sound of him being happy was something she had only heard a few times, but it brought her more joy than she thought any simple sound could bring.
“I would never do that.” He was and he would, but if she could bring him any happiness by squealing like a fool at rats, then bring on the rats. It would be worth it. “If I sound at all amused, it’s only because I am relieved you were not being attacked.”
She turned to face him. Laughter lit his eyes. Laugh lines that she’d never noticed before creased along his lips, showcasing a small dimple on his left cheek.
“I was being attacked,” she teased. “Only by something of the four-legged variety is all. I think I nearly jumped out of my skin.”
“Maybe it’s time to collect your skin and get out of here, then. Before it returns.”
“That is a very good idea. It might have just gone to get friends to terrify me.”
Despite their words, they stood in place looking into each other’s eyes. She didn’t want to be the first to move and end the moment. He didn’t seem in a hurry, either. The warmth of his smile made her feel safe. He would protect her, even from rats.
He would lay his life down for her. It was that fact that frightened her more than anything else. She did not want his death on her conscience. He had come to mean a great deal to her. Even after such a short time she’d begun to wonder what her life would be like without him in it. That life was not something she wanted to imagine.
A day on the run with him had opened her eyes to many things about herself and life that she’d only imagined were possible. She’d always hoped someday she would have a home, a family. That life was something she’d prayed for nearly every night since childhood. When she was younger, that family had been her brother and her. As she got older, she’d thought it impossible to hope it might include a man. Her life had been too complicated to imagine that. But if it did, she had no doubt it would be a man like Ronin.
She was sure he had his own dreams of a future and family. Family was very important to him. The fact that he’d been so dedicated to proving his father’s innocence showed that. For him to have that future, that life, he’d have to stay alive. That wasn’t likely to happen if he stayed with her. Her future was uncertain. With so many out to kill her, and Ronin so determined to protect her, it was possible this might not end well.
Her thoughts only strengthened her resolve.
She would leave him. She’d nearly ditched him before. Now she was more aware of how he thought, so she could do it again. Not because she didn’t trust him, but because she did. Only this time he wouldn’t know she was even gone until it was too late.
Thea turned away from him. Instantly she missed his smile, his warmth. Her heart sank as she followed Ronin back to the truck, but with the decision made, she knew it was for the best.
Back on the road she kept her eyes averted out the window. If he looked into her eyes there was a chance he’d see what she was thinking and she couldn’t have that. She had to stay focused on what she needed to do. She wasn’t sure when or where she’d make a run for it, but she’d stay alert and ready. He would be angry and he would do his best to find her, but maybe she could keep him off track just long enough to find her brother and get home.
She was tired of running.
It was time to turn the tables and become something other than the hunted.
It was time for her to become the hunter.
*
She was up to something. Ronin wasn’t sure what, but something had changed since the rest stop. After he’d rescued her from the rat, she seemed different. Gone was the soft woman he’d spent the day traveling with and protecting. In her place was the hardened fighter he’d met that first night.
It was surprising that he could read her so well after such a short time. He didn’t even have to look into her eyes to see that she was deep in thought about something that he wouldn’t like. She’d been tense and her breathing had changed. She was watching the road signs even more intently than he was. If he didn’t know bett
er he’d say she was afraid. She couldn’t be afraid of him; they had moved past that.
Or he thought they had.
Granted, he hadn’t given her many reasons to trust him when he’d kept so much from her.
“Any good snacks left?” he asked in an attempt to get her talking again. At least then he’d have a chance to try to sort out what was going on in her mind.
Thea turned toward him, rummaging through the bag of snacks Lizzie had packed for their journey.
“Do you think they’ll be okay?” she asked, her voice a whisper of worry.
“Yes.” He didn’t have to ask who she meant. The elderly couple had been on his mind, as well. “Earl knows how to take care of himself, and we’ll make a call at the next town.”
Ronin breathed a sigh of relief. Worry over the people who had taken them in explained Thea’s change in behavior. He should have alerted the authorities by now, but his first priority was Thea. Earl could take care of his family.
“How hungry are you?” Thea asked. “There are a couple sandwiches still in here, some potato chips and cookies.”
“Homemade?” he asked. He’d never been one to turn down homemade cookies.
“Looks that way.” Thea pulled out a small ziplock bag, inspecting it closely. “Peanut butter.”
“Sounds good.”
“For you,” Thea remarked. “Nuts are off my menu, in case you’ve forgotten.” Thea handed the ziplock bag over to him and closed the sack.
“There has to be something else in there you can eat.”
“I’m not really hungry right now,” she stated, turning her head to look back out the window at the passing countryside.
“Do you need to nap?”
“The last time I did, it did not end well.”
Ronin laughed. She was right. As much as he wanted to promise her that this time would be different, he couldn’t. He’d kept a close watch on the road behind them and around them, just in case. He hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary. With the tracker destroyed, they should be impossible to find. They might actually be able to make it the rest of the way to Denver without any further problems.
