| |
The Northern Line
Emelia
––––––––
“SO, WHY SCOTLAND?” Nathanial’s attention slid from Laurel to me. Stretched out leisurely on the seats opposite us, he looked to have recovered from his endurance sprint—a feat that spoke of his incredible fitness.
And lovely body.
I pressed my lips together, determined not to allow my yearning to show. Secretly, I was ecstatic that he’d been able to join us, but it didn’t mean we were engaged or anything. Laurel’s needs still came first.
“It’s far away from here, I think.” Laurel smirked as the train lurched out of King’s Cross. “Away from London and the man who might have fathered me.”
“And that’s it?” His focus lingered on me that time, silently demanding an answer. “No Scottish psychotic ex-boyfriends I need to know about?”
“No.” I shook my head with a smile. “Definitely not. I just want to be out of England, and it’s a good place to potentially jump north again if that’s where the wind takes us.”
My gaze locked with Laurel, her expression knowing.
“Scandinavia, eh?” He nodded with apparent approval. “Very sensible. Those countries are far more civilized than we are here.”
“It’s a potential plan.” I waved the proposal away with a flick of my hand, wanting to enjoy the moment with the two of them without worrying about the future. “Nothing is fixed, though.”
“I’m pleased to hear it.” He exhaled. “Right now, I’m just pleased I made it. I wasn’t sure I would.”
“We’re pleased too.” Laurel grinned. “We were worried about you.”
“I was concerned for you guys too.” A line appeared in his brow. “I was shocked but happy when I heard Wilson had let you go. I don’t think anything good can happen when you stay in that mausoleum.”
“Yeah.” Glancing around the carriage, I was pleased to see the three of us were alone. “I was surprised too, but he still had conditions attached to our freedom.”
Fresh trepidation surged as I recalled those conditions. I would never have justice for what he and Sam had done to me, but then, Sam would never have justice either. Perhaps, in the end, it was what we both deserved.
“Tell me.” Nathanial’s stare scanned us both. “What did he want?”
“I will tell you,” I assured him. “But first, tell us what happened to you. I felt awful leaving you there, Nathanial, but I had to get this one out of there.” Motioning to Laurel, I hoped he could understand. I’d made no secret of my resolve to keep her safe at all costs.
“He kept me locked up for a long time.” His eyes closed as he recalled what were no doubt dark hours of imprisonment.
“I hope he didn’t hurt you.” I was reticent to get the full story while Laurel was there with us, but I trusted Nathanial’s ability to tone down the gory details if necessary.
“There was a lot of implied violence, but no...” His green gaze flickered open. “Ultimately, all he wanted was compliance. For me to agree to leave the country. He’s going to be mighty pissed off when he realizes I’ve slipped away from his security guys and gone absent without leave. It won’t take him long to track me either.”
“We can get our passports expressed,” I offered, conscious of the urgency underlying his tone and certain his wariness was justified. The CCTV at the station alone would be able to identify not only his presence but which train he’d boarded. We wouldn’t be able to hide for long.
“I still don’t have mine.” He sniggered as though there was anything amusing about the outcome. “And I don’t see the Home Office issuing one after this, do you?”
“So, what does that mean?” Laurel interjected. “You can never leave the country?”
“Not officially.” Nathanial’s brow rose. “Not while Wilson’s in charge. And if I leave, I’ll never be allowed back.”
Though, after everything we’d been through, it was debatable that any of us would want to.
“Officially?” Reaching for the bottle of water Laurel had bought, I unscrewed the lid. “Are there ‘unofficial’ ways to leave?”
“Naturally.” He winked at me. “But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. I concur with your plan, Em. Let’s head north for now and keep our heads down. Where can we go from Edinburgh?”
“I’ll look up our rail options,” Laurel offered, immediately grabbing her phone.
“Great.” I looked from her to him. “We have plenty of money.”
“Yeah, about that...” His lips twitched. “You said Wilson gave it to you.”
“That’s right,” I answered.
“How did you persuade him to be so generous?” Nathanial’s gaze speared me.
“I just asked.” It sounded ridiculous, but it was true. “I figured, why not? It was the only chance I was going to get. The guy’s a prick, but money is a currency he understands.”
“Fair play to you.” Nathanial clapped his hands together in applause. “Maybe he does care about you and Laurel after all.”
“Unlikely,” I sneered, recalling the twisted ultimatum Wilson had given me. “He told me if I didn’t agree with his terms, he’d take her into custody as his daughter.” The old, familiar anger furled in my chest. “I couldn’t allow that.”
“Bastard.” Nathanial sighed. “There are truly no lengths he won’t plummet to in order to get what he wants.”
“Seemingly not,” I agreed.
“And what were his terms?” He scanned the train car as his voice lowered.
“You won’t like them.” Laurel looked up from her phone. “I didn’t.”
“They were necessary.” Conscious of how defensive my tone was, I sought to clarify. “Anything’s better than the risk of losing you, sweetheart.”
“I know.” She smiled. “I’m just saying. Nathanial won’t like it.”
“What won’t Nathanial like?” His voice had deepened to something close to a growl. “Is someone going to tell me?”
“I had to sign an affidavit.” I’d done what had to be done. It was a theme ever since Laurel had been born.
“Saying what?” Nathanial’s eyebrow arched.
“That I wouldn’t prosecute him for attacking me.” My heart sped up with the admission. It didn’t help that I was confessing to the man who’d invested so much time in gathering evidence for the case against Wilson.
“What?” His eyes widened, disbelief shining in them.
“In return, he also signed one for me.” I rattled off the words quickly, hoping the latest admission would heal the former one. “Saying I can’t be prosecuted for Sam’s death.”
Nathanial’s mouth closed, his expression dazed as though he didn’t know what to say.
“Ultimately, I had no choice.” I cringed at the truth. “I’d have signed almost anything to keep him away from Laurel.”
“I understand.” Nathanial’s sigh suggested he was light years away from understanding.
“I am sorry.” I wanted to reach for his hand, but Laurel’s presence demanded I hold back. She’d said she was okay with Nathanial being in our life, but that didn’t mean she was happy for overt shows of affection. “I know you worked hard to build a case against him.”
“It was a means to get to you.” The corners of his mouth tugged upward. “Not at first, of course. Initially, it was just another case, but as I investigated, the case helped me to understand what you’d been through. Penalizing you for Sam’s death would have been totally wrong, but do you really believe Wilson won’t use Sam’s death against you going forward?”
“I don’t have any choice.”
The niggling mistrust that lived within my belly spiked about his inference. We were both right. I had no other option but to roll with what Wilson wanted, but equally, a part of me still suspected one day he’d tear up the deal and my ex’s death would return to haunt me. Sam had a melancholy way of lingering where he wasn’t wanted.
“I know.” Nathanial looked to the roof of the train. “It seems to be the way it is, doesn’t it? Wilson holds all the cards while we’re left dangling on the end of his line.”
“I’m done with dangling.” I didn’t much care for the analogy, although it was apt. “It’s time to get off his line.”
“I’ll help you as much as I can.” Nathanial’s smile was warm. “You know that.”
“Thanks.”
Eyeing his large hand, I once again considered reaching for him but decided against it. Laurel had indicated nothing but support for my relationship with Nathanial, but sitting there, hurtling toward a future north of the border, the situation seemed precarious.
She didn’t know how she felt. So much had happened so fast that neither of us did, so I chose to play it safe.
“Weird to be back on a train again.” His gaze traveled to the doors at the end of the row. “When that’s how we met.”
“True.” Stifling laughter, I glanced to see what Laurel thought of the coincidence. “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
“Well, we could get a train from Edinburgh to Aberdeen.” Apparently unaffected by the memory of her day stuck in her old school while the fog loomed large over proceedings, she ignored the comment entirely as she flashed her phone’s screen in my direction.
“Aberdeen?” I’d never even contemplated the place. “That takes us halfway up the country, I suppose. If we keep traveling north, we could take ferries to Shetland and then hop to Norway, but we still won’t be in the E.U.”
“I guess I could hide in cargo,” Nathanial joked. “Assuming you guys still want me trailing along with you by then.”
“Oh, I think we will.” I mirrored his smile. “We’ll figure it out.”
He leaned closer. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
The salacious gleam in his gaze told me that I might, my concentration temporarily fixed on the light shining there.
“I’m going to find a toilet.” Laurel’s gaze passed between Nathanial and me as she rose from her seat. “It seems like you two need a few minutes alone.”
“Laurel?” My focus flitted back to her. “It’s fine. You don’t need to go.”
“I need to go,” she insisted, heading down the corridor. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
“She seems to be handling all of this well.” Nathanial peered around to watch her leave the carriage.
“She’s incredible,” I agreed, though I couldn’t deny my apprehension at her sudden departure. I’d have preferred we stay together.
“Is she okay with this?” He gestured between us. “I mean, I didn’t know if you two had talked about it...”
“She’s okay with it.” I caught his hand in mid-air and wrapped my fingers around his digits. “But I’m wary of going too hard, too fast, you know? She’s not used to seeing me happy with anyone. This is all... new and going away together is already one hell of an impromptu adventure.”
It was new for me, let alone for her.
“That’s one way of putting it.” He lifted my hand to his lips and skimmed a kiss over my skin. “And I get it. Slow is fine for me. We do have other things to think about anyway, like staying out of Wilson’s clutches and out of prison...”
I laughed at how he made that sound. “Maybe one day we’ll have a normal life.”
“Maybe.” His smile evaporated as he came to sit beside me. “Listen, there’s more I have to tell you about Wilson.”
“More?” Tension knotted in my tummy.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “There’s something you need to know.”