Chapter 28
Emily
Luke left me in his large office a few minutes ago, but I’m finding it difficult to concentrate. Instead I look around the room, taking in all the little pieces of him. The way the large bookshelves are organized, the incredible view from the floor to ceiling windows behind the chair and even the way things are set on the desk. The room itself has a very masculine feel to it, from the dark mahogany desk to the tan walls, pretty much exactly what I expected his office to look like. It even smells like the cologne he wears.
Pushing the thought of him in here out of my mind, I quickly connect to Dark Security’s VPN account and access my system. It’s not ideal, since VPN always runs a little slower than direct connect does, but it works and I’m able to have the programs running in next to no time. After checking my email and sending the background check off to Alec, which I still think is pointless, I head out to find Luke. I know if I sit too long in here, I’ll drive myself crazy trying to figure out who could possibly be following me and why.
“Something smells good,” following a delicious smell I find Luke in the kitchen.
“I thought you might be hungry.”
“Starving actually…I haven’t eaten since breakfast this morning.”
“It’s just about done, did you want to eat outside or in the dining room?”
“Do you mind if we eat outside? I can’t remember the last time I sat outside and didn’t hear cars flying by, horns beeping, or people walking by while on their phones.”
“Not one for the city life, huh?” he laughs.
“No.” I grab two bottles of beer from the fridge.
“Why don’t you head out and I’ll bring the dishes?”
Not needing to be told twice, I step through the sliding glass doors and onto a beautiful patio. There’s plenty of seating, though something tells me Luke rarely entertains here, but it’s the view that captures my attention. As stunning as it was from his office upstairs, being out here is even more breathtaking. The landscape around the patio is perfect, but it’s the woods that grab my attention just like they did the other day. Only this time, you can smell the forest as well.
Most people wouldn’t pay attention to the smell of the woods, but after we finally escaped we spent two long days in the woods. We actually skipped the first town we came across the night we left; Luke was afraid that we might run into someone from either the fights or… When he said we would keep going, I didn’t argue-not even when my feet were cut so bad they were bleeding. It took most of the second day before we finally came across another town and even though he was still hesitant Luke led us to the hospital. For those two days, the woods were our home. No matter how dark they got at night, as long as I could still smell the trees and dirt I knew we were safe.
“You doing okay?” he surprises me and pulls me from those thoughts. After placing a plate of chicken stir fry in front of me, he clicks a button starting a gas fireplace I hadn’t noticed before.
“Yeah…I think being here helps. It was so…unnerving. I haven’t felt like that in a long time,” I admit.
“It must have been frightening.”
“I think it was more frustrating than anything. I have all this training in self-defense and martial arts, hell I even had my gun on me—”
“Your gun? You carry?”
“I have a concealed weapon permit.”
“How did I not know that?”
“It never came up.” I take a bite of food, moaning in surprise as all the flavors hit me at once. “This is really good.”
“Uh…thanks,” he mumbles as if he might be embarrassed. “Did your dad teach you how to shoot?”
“Yeah,” I blink away the threatening tears. “After…while we were waiting for his transfer to go through, he took me to a shooting range and taught me how to use a bunch of different caliber guns. We went every day until I was able to shoot accurately with each one. Only then did he buy me one.”
“I’m really sorry for your loss. I know you two were really close.”
“We were. After my mom died it was just the two of us.”
“Did you know he hired me a lawyer?”
“He did? He never mentioned it.”
“He did…two actually. The first was there to make sure no criminal charges were pressed against me—”
“Against you? What the hell would they have arrested you for?”
“Assault—”
“It was fucking self-defense!”
“Was it?” he looks at me and we both know what he’s thinking.
“Yes, it was.” There is no doubt in my mind it was self-defense.
“Once I was cleared, I met the other attorney your dad hired for me.”
“What was that lawyer for?”
“I guess your dad had some connections or something because he knew I had been in foster care…before. Anyway, this lawyer…she took the county and state to court for me. According to her, and the judge, the system had failed me. I shouldn’t have ever been on the streets to begin with. If they had done their job he wouldn’t have…”
“I had no idea.” I sit back in the chair, taking a drink of beer, surprised but also not surprised at what he said my dad did. As much as I wish he would have let me contact Luke, I can see him reaching out to help Luke. “My dad…like I said, he didn’t like talking about any part of what happened. He never mentioned you…”
“It was because of him that I was able to start Dark Water Security with Alec and then ultimately buy this place. The money I was awarded by the state was put into a trust fund, and since I went into the Army, I didn’t need it right away. If it wasn’t for your dad, Dark Water Security wouldn’t exist.”
“I wish I would have known. They must have sealed the case files because nothing came up when I was searching for you.”
“Speaking of… you changed your last name.”
“When we moved to California, my dad wanted a fresh start. Even though the press hadn’t figured out who I was yet, he was petrified they were going to at some point. So, we both legally changed our names so that if anyone looked for the old Emily Johnson, they wouldn’t find me.”
“It’s beautiful out here.” I gaze back out at the forest after we finish dinner.
“Thanks.”
“Do you remember the night we spent in the woods?” I don’t know if I should ask him about…any of that time, we’ve pretty much ignore it since the last time I was here.
“Yeah.”
“I should have been afraid, but I wasn’t. There could have been wolves, bears, or who knows what hiding in those woods, but somehow…”
“They were safer than the alternative.”
“Exactly.”
“Tell me about San Diego.”
“There’s not much to tell…Dad transferred there shortly after…”
“Did you like it?”
“No,” I answer quickly. “It was…different from Oklahoma. We lived in a small suburb before. We had a yard where my dad would build a fire in the summer and sometimes we even camped out in it. The houses were kind of close together, but not on top of one another. That night…my friend lived only a few blocks away.
“San Diego was the complete opposite. We were in the city, in a small two bedroom house with the neighbors on top of us. There was no yard, just a small patch of concrete. It was always busy…and loud.”
“But you stayed. How come you didn’t go somewhere else for college or even after you graduated?”
“I couldn’t. My dad was convinced that, as ironic as it sounds, that living in a city was far safer for me than living anywhere else. He said that as long as our neighborhood was good and I stuck to that area then nothing like what happened could happen to me again. I know it sounds crazy coming from a cop, but I think in his mind it made sense.”
“But you miss Oklahoma?”
“Not where we lived, per se, but that type of area, yes. I could never go back there, though. When we were still there, my dad had to avoid driving past the spot where he…or I would have a full blown panic attack. Even just driving on the same street.”
“Yeah, I was the same way.”
“Really?”
“I couldn’t go near that section of town, not even within a few blocks of it. All my social workers were made aware that they couldn’t place me in homes anywhere near that area.”
“You ever wonder how your life would be different if…”
“I used to, but then I started to wonder if I would have gone into the Army and met Alec if I hadn’t. What if we never started Dark Water Security? What if we hadn’t helped everyone that we’ve helped over the last few years?”
“I hadn’t thought about it like that.”