I’d never been terribly fond of malls, and right now, the crowds of strangers were only ramping up my stress levels as I tried to stick to my plan and keep it going.
Of course, Locke immediately picked up on my discomfort and was kind enough to steer me toward a department store, where I’d be able to pick up almost everything I’d need, without having to deal with the crowds in the main part of the mall. Because, it would appear, that Locke was determined to make me question everything I’d thought of him and his family for the last few years.
Once again, I reminded myself of the person I was supposed to be…a person who wasn’t out for revenge, but was rather trying to recover from a kidnapping. A person who’d be smitten by Locke’s charms, despite the hell she’d had to endure.
Making sure that whatever I picked up didn’t cost a small fortune, I opted for comfortable layers, not bothering to try on the stuff, since I didn’t want to delay us any more than I had to. “Done.”
“Almost done.” Ignoring my unease about my lack of funds, he paid for my new wardrobe, and then grabbed me by the hand, and dragged me off to an outdoor gear store. “You still need warm, waterproof hiking boots, decent gloves, a hat, and a good winter jacket.”
“Where the hell are we going? Alaska?” I let out a laugh as I shook my head.
What the hell was wrong with me? I was now laughing with the guy? Though I supposed that having a good time with Locke would help him relax around me and would get him to lower his guard.
Locke seemed to like the easiness between us too, since he gave me a huge grin, reaching out and squeezing my hand. “Just heading to the mountains, baby. But it’s the tail end of winter, and storms are still a regular occurrence. Best to have the stuff, just in case you need it, than to get stuck without it.”
Luckily, it didn’t take long for us to finish picking up everything we needed. We even managed to get back to the car in just over an hour, though I was still half-surprised that Bear hadn’t eaten his way through the car’s seats and the dashboard. From what I could tell, he was still fairly young, and in my experience, dogs that young weren’t usually this well-behaved.
“Locke. I think I used to have dogs. Not that it tells me anything of real importance.” It was a little detail, but I figured it might help bolster my story. And though I felt like an asshole for lying to Locke when he’d been nothing but sweet and helpful, I held onto the loss of my family and reminded myself that I was doing this for them.
I needed to get to the bottom of this. I needed to figure out who pushed my father over the edge. Maybe it wasn’t Locke—though that didn’t automatically mean that the rest of his family was in the clear. All the evidence pointed to the Blackthorns, and that meant that, at the very least, they’d played a hand in my family’s demise.
Locke pulled me from my thoughts with a smile that lit up his blue eyes. “It tells me that you’re an animal lover—though that was already pretty evident. Bear tends to be a good judge of character, and he wouldn’t go and sleep outside just anyone’s door. But it also means that your memory might be slowly coming back—and that will give us more information to go on so we can keep you safe.”
The tone of his voice was fiercely protective, making my heart race as I tried to ignore the electric tension between us. And when he tossed me another charming smile, it had me wondering how he could possibly be single. Because Locke wasn’t just sweet and kind, much to my surprise, he was also strikingly handsome in a rugged and carefree way, with tousled brown hair and a jawline covered in several days’ worth of scruff.
I could really fall for him—except that there was no fucking way any of these thoughts should even be crossing my mind. I was here for one reason and one reason alone, and I needed to stay focused.
Maybe in another lifetime…if he wasn’t who he was, and I hadn’t lost everything.
This was the man I was supposed to hate. Except that he was making it damn hard for me not to second-guess everything I’d thought about him and his family.
“Hey…you okay? What’s going on?” He gently brushed his hand down my arm, giving me a worried look as I realized that my mask must have fallen as I’d wrestled with my thoughts.
I shook it off, and managed a smile, reminding myself of who I was supposed to be at the moment. I was Emie—not Emily. “I’m fine…just had a moment. Guess the drugs are still working their way out of my system.”
“You have me worried about you.” Locke ran his hand down my arm, knotting his fingers with mine, his brow furrowed with genuine concern.
I was hit with a wave of guilt, but forced myself to shake it off, managing a smile and doing my best to remind myself of why I was here…why I’d gone through all this trouble… And I thought of my sister, Clara, who would have grown to be brilliant at whatever she’d decided to do, if her life hadn’t been stolen from her.
“Don’t be. I’m sure this will all pass before long, though it’s really sweet of you to worry.” And it truly was, which was why my plans were going to hell.
I was left to struggle with my thoughts as we hopped back on the road. We made another quick stop at a grocery store a few hours into our trip, and before long we were pulling up in front of an amazing mountain home. The place was gorgeous and must have cost a small fortune. Yet it was hard not to think of what the Blackthorns had done to be able to afford this sort of place…the lives they’d destroyed to make their money.
Not that any of that mattered at the moment as I kept my façade in place. If I wanted revenge, then I needed to figure out what really drove my father over the edge, and make sure that I could back up the evidence I’d found at my parents’ place. I may be looking for revenge, but I wouldn’t take things any further until I had the evidence to incriminate Locke or his family.
I managed a smile, forcing myself to stay focused. “It’s really nice, Locke. And the mountains are beautiful, especially when they’re covered in snow.”
“We used to come here as kids when we were growing up.” Locke unlocked the door, grabbing my hand and pulling me in behind him, as Bear bolted through the door after a quick run around the front yard. “I haven’t been here in a few years… My brothers alternate through here often enough, though.”
“Brothers? How big a family do you have?” Of course I knew that there were six brothers altogether—and that their father had been murdered just over a year ago. One of the brothers, however, lived in Ireland and had never taken part in the family business, working instead as a photographer.
“Five brothers—no sisters. All of them a pain in the ass, though I wouldn’t change a thing.” He gave me a crooked smile that lit up his eyes. “Come on…let me show you around.”
He’d yet to let go of my hand, and though it should bother me, it didn’t. If anything, I found it comforting to have someone in my life again. Except that Locke and his family were the reason why I had no family left—even if I had to pretend that Locke was just like any other sweet and sexy guy out there.
Not that I’d ever met anyone like Locke before.
My fingers knotted with his as he showed me around the place, which felt cozy and inviting, like the place was filled with love and memories. Of course, Bear insisted on following us around, until we ended the tour in the great room, which opened up to the kitchen and a dining area.
The home was truly impressive, although nothing could match the breathtaking view of the mountains and forest, framed by a wall of windows. It felt like it was designed to bring the outdoors in, which it did brilliantly. Even better was the massive river rock fireplace with the huge wooden mantel. I could already picture how nice it would be to snuggle up in front of a roaring fire and leave my reality behind.
I felt a small measure of peace settle in my soul as I took in the white-capped mountains as flakes of snow caught the air and danced their way to the ground. “This is really nice, Locke.”
“We can stay as long as you’d like. Maybe once you’ve had a chance to relax a bit, your memories will start to come back to you—and there’s always a good chance that someone will also report you missing once they realize you’re gone.” His jaw tensed as his bright-blue eyes darkened with worry. “I can’t imagine that there isn’t someone out there worried out of their head that you’ve disappeared.”
Except that there was no one looking, because anyone who’d cared about me was already dead.