Chapter Nine
Annalise
The knock on the door came mere moments after she finished dressing.
“Do you have some sort of spy cam?” She was speaking to an empty room, but waved a middle finger around just in case he happened to be watching anyway. Then she went to answer the door. “Good timing. Did you enjoy the show?”
To her surprise, Caine ignored the comment and walked inside, practically pushing past her.
“Can I help you?”
He wandered around the common area of the little house for a moment before turning to look at her. “Yes, you can. You can start by telling me just what is going on.”
“Excuse me? I’m not sure I like your tone.” She considered grabbing her bag and leaving. What happened to the Caine from the night before? The kind, caring, and gentle giant. This was a different person, a side of him she’d not seen before. A harder side. Not evil or bad; she didn’t feel threatened. It was just…unrelenting.
“I think I deserve a few answers,” he replied coolly. “After all, I’ve been more than trusting and upfront with you.”
She frowned. “I’ve told you from the start all that I’m willing to share, and I’ve been upfront with you that I don’t want to talk about it in detail either. So what the hell has changed?”
“What’s changed? Lots of things have changed.” He began to pace. “Tell me, Annalise, did you lie to me?”
“Did I lie to you? Lie to you about what? Be. More. Specific.” She threw her hands in the air in frustration. “God, I hate this unspecific bullshit. Just tell me what the hell your question is so that we can get it good and out in the open. Stop dancing around it.”
She wanted to cry as the situation between them deteriorated. Through the night she’d begun to wonder if maybe she could trust Caine. That maybe, just maybe, there was a goodness to him that hadn’t been present in anyone else she’d ever met. That maybe she could talk to him. Sticking around was out of the question, but maybe he would have some advice that might help her. Anything, really. Just talking to someone would be a change, something she’d almost never been able to do.
Now though, it was obvious that she’d been dreaming it all up. Maybe one drink too many at the wedding, though she’d barely indulged at all for that specific reason. Alcohol dulled the senses and confused the memories, and she couldn’t afford that. So what had gotten into Caine this morning?
“What are you on the run from?”
“Who,” she corrected tiredly. This thing again? Why couldn’t he just accept that she didn’t want to talk about her past? It’s not like it was going to affect him. Nobody knew that they had talked. She would drift onward, and eventually he would forget about her and life would be grand. “Look, Caine. I left someone behind. Someone who isn’t willing to leave me alone.”
“And you’re positive that other people would view it like that?”
Annalise hesitated. “Yes,” she said at last. Most people would.
“I thought you meant that you were just trying to start over, that you hadn’t found a place to settle down after leaving your old life behind,” he told her. “I didn’t mean you had literally run away.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and shoved it at her. “There’s a missing person’s report for you, Annalise! Someone built an entire website dedicated to bringing you home. Someone out there cares for you. They want you back.” He shook his head. “I can’t be a part of that.”
Annalise heard what he was saying, but she was too focused on the image and text on the piece of paper. It was her, though the picture was old and out of date. Her hairstyle was different, and it was much longer now too. Her skin was lighter now as well; she’d not gotten much sun the past half-decade. But other than that, it was unmistakably her.
“Where did you get this?” she asked hoarsely.
“What?”
“WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?” she screamed, waving the paper at him.
“It was on the website I clicked on last night when I searched for your name.”
“Oh God,” she cried, dropping the paper as she grabbed her head. “No. No no no.”
“Annalise?” he reached out for her. “Annalise, what’s wrong?”
She backed away. “You’re what’s wrong!” she shouted. “This.” She stabbed a finger at the paper. “This is what’s wrong. You printed that. Oh no.”
Turning, she rushed back into the bedroom, stuffing her meager belongings into the rucksack she carried with her everywhere. It wasn’t much, a small thing, but it had served her well and had been well worth the four days straight of panhandling to afford it.
“What the hell is going on?” Caine bellowed, blocking the door with his massive frame.
“Get out of my way,” she snapped, doing up the zipper.
“Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”
She snarled angrily. “What’s wrong is that you went snooping where you shouldn’t have. I didn’t leave, Caine. I didn’t run away either. I escaped something. Something nobody should ever have to be a part of, and then I ran. Do you get it? I ran away. Now you’ve just revealed where I am. They can track you through your visit, down to the GPS coordinates on your phone. Twelve hours and someone will be here to pick me up and take me back.” Annalise shook her head violently. “I’m not going back.”
“I won’t let anyone take you,” Caine stated, his voice dark and threatening. “They’ll have to go through me first.”
Annalise wilted. “Don’t you understand yet, Caine. That’s exactly what they will do. These people are evil. They don’t play fair.”
To her complete surprise Caine didn’t grow worried, or serious at her warning. Instead he did the exact last thing she expected of him. “I don’t play fair either,” he assured her. “You have nothing to fear, if you just trust me.”
“I can’t trust you, Caine.”
“Why not?”
She sighed. “Trust is a two-way street, and you betrayed mine when you went looking for me on the internet instead of trusting what I told you. Now you’ve put me in danger. You might be big and strong, but the guy who will come after me is a professional. He won’t hesitate to put you down.”
This time Caine’s face did darken, but with anger. “They’re welcome to try,” he growled. “But there’s many things you don’t know about me, Annalise. You needn’t worry. I will be able to keep you safe from whoever is coming after you.”
“I wish I could believe that, Caine. I truly do. But I don’t know if I can rely on you yet. You need to understand that I’ve survived on my own for five years now without getting caught or even close. It was only because I allowed myself to get close to you that I’m in trouble.”
The big man looked pained, but he nodded. “What can I do to help, then? Just tell me what you need.”
Annalise sighed. She hated this part. “I need you to leave me alone, Caine. You’ve already caused damage. I don’t need you to make it any worse.”
There was an awkward pause as her words hit him in the stomach like a vicious one-two attack, almost doubling him over. His muscles were proof against much, but words would strike home every time, and Annalise was an expert at saying what was necessary to detach herself from people. It was how she’d managed to remain alone the past few years. Oftentimes it would take a burst of anger, usually faked, to drive overly kind people away. She could see it was going to have to be the same with Caine.
“I didn’t mean to cause you trouble,” he said. “And I’ll let you go, but not until I’ve at least seen you away safely.”
Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m not just going to leave you right here and now. If whoever this person is truly will be here in short order, then at least accept my protection for the time being. I’ll get you on a bus, or a train, hell, even a plane if—”
“No planes,” she interrupted. “They require ID. That can be tracked. Trains aren’t bad, but buses are the best. Completely anonymous and leaving frequently.”
“They have a communal station downtown,” he explained. “You can get out that way. Let me escort you there at least.”
Annalise knew she should say no. To tell him to just go home, that she’d been fine by herself for this long, she didn’t need his help now. But she couldn’t. He was like a puppy-dog, eager to be of help in any way possible.
She had to admit he certainly did provide some protection, even if it was just the intimidation factor. Except for the first few weeks of her escape, she’d never been this close to danger before. Maybe taking him along would be a good idea.
“Okay, fine. But once we’re there, you let me go, and you don’t try to follow me. I have to disappear. Do you understand?”
“No. Not at all. You could stay. My brothers and I will protect you. Nothing will harm you.” He grimaced. “But just because I don’t understand, doesn’t mean I won’t do it. You don’t have to run. You just don’t know it yet.”
Annalise sighed. “Fine, fine. Now can we go?”
“Yes. Yes we can.” Caine brightened. “That’s perfect!”
“What’s perfect?”
He grinned at her and finally removed himself from the doorway.
“I’m going with you!”