Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 82524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
With my heart racing, I slip out of bed, and pause halfway to the bathroom.
Rafe doesn’t stir.
I’ll say this for my husband. He’s insanely attractive, fucks like a god, and sleeps like the dead.
That’s it for his redeeming qualities though.
I sneak to the closet and find the bag I hid under the pile of clothes. Rafe thinks I threw a tantrum and that’s partially correct. It felt good making a huge mess.
But mostly I wanted to leave this here to keep my go-bag hidden.
Once I dig it out, I put on sneakers, tug on a black sweatshirt and black jeans, and hurry to the bedroom door.
Rafe’s breathing is even and steady.
In the hall, I start to wonder if I can really do this.
Hattie’s room first. She’s dead to the world. I shake her gently until she grunts and groans, eyelids fluttering. “Quiet now, baby,” I whisper, lifting her into my arms. God, when did she get so heavy?! I remember walking around her bedroom rocking and bouncing her until she passed out. I had a whole dance routine and a song to go with it. Hattie’s Sleepy Moves. Worked every time—and by every time, I mean once or twice per week.
“Mommy? I’m tired.”
“I know, baby, but we have to get going. I have a surprise for you, but you have to be quiet, okay?”
“Why?”
“We’re chasing after a special unicorn tonight.”
That gets her attention. “Really?”
“Mhmm. I’ll tell you all about it on the way. We’re going into the forbidden forest—“
“Mommy!”
“I know, sweetie, but you’ll be brave and it’ll be okay. Can you do that for me?” This is the biggest uncertainty in my plan. Hattie’s only a little girl and I don’t know how far we have to hike before we find civilization. But I do remember it isn’t that long and the delivery driver even mentioned how it’s twenty minutes from the store. We get out of the gate, follow the drive to the main road, ideally hitch a ride to town—
And then disappear.
I hold Hattie’s hand. Fear strikes deep into my guts. Can I really do this? Can I really escape?
If it were only me, I don’t think I’d try.
I’m a coward. I know, it’s pathetic but it’s true. If I didn’t have my daughter to worry about, I think I’d dream about running away but never follow through, too weak and afraid to do anything.
But for Hattie?
I’d kill for my little girl.
I push open her door, determined to do this. I’ll burn the world for her. I’ll rip up a mountain with my bare hands. Anything it takes—
I stop short, breath caught in my throat, and a scream at the edge of my tongue.
He’s standing in the hallway wreathed in darkness. A black t-shirt and dark shorts. His tattoos are ghostly and visible, eerie in the soft night lights.
Rafe stares at me calmly.
“We’re searching for a special unicorn,” Hattie says happily. “Want to come, Rafey?”
His eyes drift to her. For a moment, his cold mask slips. “Not tonight, love. You should go back to bed. Your mother was wrong, the unicorn’s not out right now.”
“Is that true, Mommy?”
Tears fill my eyes. My throat closes.
God, why am I so stupid?
“Yes, sweetie, it must be true. Sorry, Mommy made a mistake.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I didn’t want to go. Can I get in bed now?”
“Go ahead, baby.” I kiss her and walk her back to tuck her in. “I love you so much.”
“You too, Mommy.” She snuggles in and cuddles with a pile of new stuffies.
Rafe’s still waiting in the hall. I pull Hattie’s door closed with a click and he studies me. A tingling fear rolls down my spine and I realize he’s angry.
“How did you think this would go?” he asks, voice soft in the darkness. “Explain to me what you were thinking.”
“I’m a prisoner, Rafe. Did you really expect me to roll over and let you own me?”
“No, not that. How did you think you’d get out with her?” His jaw sets, eyes sharpening.
“You’re not angry I tried to escape?”
“Not at all. I expected you to try sooner. But what I want to know is why the fuck did you think you could drag my five-year-old daughter through the pine barrens in the middle of the night?”
I make an involuntary grunt. I feel like someone punched me in the guts. “There’s the driveway—“
“It’s five miles long.”
My mouth hangs open. “What? Seriously?”
“Yes, June, it’s five miles long, and everything around is rough terrain. You’d hike for hours in the pitch black, your daughter cold and afraid beside you, only to find the dirt fucking road that twists and turns for another five miles to the nearest paved access street.”
“The grocery driver… he said it’s twenty minutes…”
“Twenty minutes to the fucking street in a god damn van.”
My heart sinks in horror at the realization of what I almost did.