LLLDragonWings Kindle (2 page)

And today she finally had the courage to do it.

They walked to the diner’s parking lot. Rovik drove a black Escalade and somehow she wasn’t surprised. Outsiders always drove the flashiest car in town.

“Do you want to get your things before we leave?” he asked.

“No. Can we just leave?” she asked rather urgently. The more distance she could put between Dwayne and her, the better. She didn’t want to face him or his dad. 

“I understand. But your wedding gown would make it hard to move. I think you should change.” It appeared he was being practical.

“Do you have any clothes I could borrow?”

“You want to wear
my
clothes?” He seemed amused at the thought. “I guess that’s better than nothing.” Rovik retrieved his duffel bag from the backseat and pawed through the content. He settled with a plaid button up shirt and a pair of sweatpants; both were clean and had been folded neatly.

“Those’ll work.” Emily grabbed the shirt and pants and shimmied between the cars to the back area, where a wall enclosed the space from public view.

“Are you doing what I’m thinking you’re doing?” Rovik called to her. Mirth laced his voice.

“I’ll be just a minute.” Emily didn’t want to go back to the diner and be stared at. Besides, no one could see her change clothes, unless really looking. Her strapless gown was secured by a side zipper. She hurriedly shoved it down and shook the expensive dress off her ankles. Dwayne had personally chosen it for her; he took care of every little detail in the planning, saying he wanted the perfect wedding, like everything else in his life. She didn’t share the same enthusiasm. True, she had grown up with him, but she didn’t have an ounce of romantic feeling for him.

But Rovik on the other hand…

Her cheeks suddenly heated as she pulled up the sweatpants.

Rovik was different.

The moment their eyes met, she was overcome with a strong attraction that drew her to him. Something animalistic. Undoubtedly primal. The notion almost like enlightenment, as if she’d just found the piece missing from a puzzle she’d been trying to figure out her entire life. He would help her if she asked. She couldn’t explain her blind faith but she
knew
from the bottom of her heart, she could trust him.

Emily put on the shirt and buttoned it up. She bent down to pick up the wedding dress, while momentarily thinking about what to do with it. Throwing it in the trash seemed like a waste. After all, it was a beautiful and pricey dress. She spotted the stump of a nail sticking out from the outside wall of the diner, and decided to hang the dress from it. Some lucky bride should be able to use of it. She patted down her shirt and pants. Her fancy high heeled bridal slippers pinched her feet, but they would make due for now.

Rovik looked over his shoulder when he heard her return. His grin broadened. Her heart skipped a beat.

“You’re a sight to behold even when you’re dressed like that,” he said.

For some reason, his compliment made her happy. She returned his smile.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Ready, freddy.”

“Okay, then.”

“Wait—” Emily halted him, tugging at the sleeve of his leather jacket.

“Mm?”

“You might get in trouble for taking me in. Are you sure you’re okay with it?” It just occurred to her that Dwayne and his father wouldn’t let her go willy nilly. Once they got wind of what she was doing, they would give Rovik trouble. But Rovik seemed like a guy who wouldn’t be intimidated so easily. He was a bounty hunter, wasn’t he? He must know how to deal with unsavory characters in tight situations.

Not that Dwayne and his family were unsavory people.

They took her in when she had nobody else in the world. But she always had an uneasy feeling about them. Often she felt as if she were an indulged lamb, fattened only to be slaughtered when the time came.

The McGuires had secrets, but she was kept blind to them. They imposed strict rules which forbade her from having a normal life. And when she objected, they played the guilt card. Out of gratitude, she obeyed. For years, she was trapped in that gilded cage, unable to stretch her wings, unable to take a breather. While she forced a smile for the world to see, inside, she died a little each day from the social isolation.

Was it too selfish to expect a little freedom?

Rovik’s expression hardened. “Emily, the sheriff in this town doesn’t scare me, and neither does your fiancé. I won’t let anything happen to you while you’re under my wings. You have my word.”

Somehow, she wasn’t thoroughly convinced. “You sure?” In her sophomore year, a boy had a big crush on her and asked her to go out. Somehow, Dwayne got wind of it and beat the bloody pulp out of her admirer.  The boy’s father sued the sheriff’s family. Two weeks later, their house was engulfed in fire and the entire family had to move out of town.

A rumor floated around that the fire was arson, and Sheriff Norman was behind it, despite the fire chief declaring faulty electricity.  No one had ever been brave enough to poke around to prove the theory. One didn’t mess with the McGuires in this town.

He searched her eyes and gave a squeeze to her shoulder as reassurance. “I’m sure. I will protect you, and I’m happy to do it. I’ve always helped anybody who asks. It’s not a big deal.”

An immense relief uncurled in her heart. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure, Emily.”

She rode shotgun. As she buckled her seatbelt, more anxiety snuck inside her. True, Rovik seemed more than capable of handling Dwayne and the sheriff. Judging from the way he carried himself, his cat-like, and confident gait, his watchful eyes ever alert, she suspected Rovik had a military background. But the McGuires weren’t ordinary people.

They weren’t even
human
.

Thinking about it made her restless.

Rovik started the engine. The vehicle purred alive. The tires peeled off the parking lot with a graceful lurch.

She glanced at the diner’s windows. People still watching them. Her especially.
Is one of them going to report me? Well, too late for that.
She quickly squashed her anxiety. One thing at a time, she decided. She had been domesticated by the McGuires for so long, she couldn’t confidently make a decision on her own.

She must change if she wanted happiness.

And this was her first step. Leaving Dwayne. Leaving everything behind.

The town of Fairlee was only alive during summer and fall. Tourists came for hiking and fishing in the hot days and leafers from New York pilgrimaged when the landscapes were engulfed by the splendor of autumn. The houses were picturesque and the property values were high, as one would expect from premium land in New England.

Rovik coasted onto the main street.

“I hope you don’t plan on going to Halsberg because it will take us near the church. If you take a left, we can eventually get to Route 90. It’s a bit of a detour, but much less hassle,” she said. She laughed nervously. “For me anyway.”

The bounty hunter lifted an eyebrow. “You think they notice you’re missing about now?”

She glanced at the dashboard clock. “Maybe in eight minutes. The ceremony is supposed to start at eleven sharp.”

He made the suggested left turn and took River Street. “You said you were already in the church earlier. How did you sneak out without anyone noticing?”

“I heard from Shauna—she’s the one who does my hair and makeup—that the caterer messed up the order or something, so the sheriff was throwing a fit. We’re supposed to have a garden reception after the ceremony. The McGuires had relatives from all over the country came to the wedding and he wanted everything to be perfect. So while everybody got distracted, I went out the back and ran five blocks to the strip mall. I thought I’d get something to drink and eat before I figured out my next move.” She turned to him. “Luckily, I met you.”

Rovik glanced briefly. “No, lucky me. I got me a runaway bride. My business partner wouldn’t believe this story if I told him.”

“Oh, you have a business partner?”

“His name’s Jericho. He and I handle big bond cases while the two other associates take the rest that come in. We also have an office manager who writes bonds and does case by case apprehension. Then we have a part-time accountant who comes monthly to close the books. It’s a man’s land—our office. I think your arrival will be a nice change for everyone.”

“How long have you been in business?”

“About seven years. We started right after we got discharged from the Marines. Jericho wanted to make a quick buck and a guy he knew asked him to pick up a bail jumper in Nevada. A nasty fugitive that one. We had such a blast tracking the bastard, and it snowballed from there, and before we knew it, we were in the business.”

“So you were in the Marines. I kind of suspected you’d been in the military.”

“You can tell?”

“Either that or you could be in a motorcycle gang. You have that bad boy swagger.”

Rovik laughed.

“How long had you served?”

“Eight years. I enlisted right after high school. Dad pestered me to do something meaningful with my life. I pissed him off by dropping by a recruitment office. Two weeks later, I was shipped for training and have never regretted my choice.”

“Are your parents still around? What do they do?”

“Yep. Dad owns a gun shop and Mom teaches kindergarteners. They live in Texas.”

“Do you have brothers or sisters?”

“Nope. I’m the only child.”

“I see.”

He cast another amused smile. “I feel like I’m being interviewed.”

Busted.
“Sorry. I’m just curious. That’s all.”

“I was just teasing you. I understand you want to ask a lot of things. You’ve put blind faith in me.”

“I have to trust someone, don’t I? Right now, you’re my ally.”

“True.”

They now skirted at the edge of Fairlee toward the main highway. The road was  flanked by lush, tall trees as far as eyes could see.

“How long have you lived with the McGuires?” Rovik asked.

“About eight years. They took me in when I was twelve.”

“You don’t have relatives besides the McGuires?”

“No. And the McGuires aren’t my relatives. The sheriff was my mom’s friend.”

“So you grew up with the sheriff’s son? How did you become engaged to him?”

“I was told it was an arrangement between my mom and Norman.”

Her late mother had a serious case of wanderlust. They’d lived all over the states: Washington, Florida, California, Vermont, and even Alaska. She remembered they never stayed in one place for more than several months.

She often asked if her mother, Clarissa, was running away from someone, or something. Her mother always said she got bored easily. On the eve of her twelfth birthday, her mother went into a coma and never woke. Doctors said she died from extreme exhaustion. Mother had literally worked herself to death. After the hospital learned she was without a guardian, they called the child protective agency.

Before the social worker arrived, a man named Norman McGuire came to the hospital and claimed he was Clarissa’s legal guardian and he had her power of attorney. That night, Emily became the newest member in the McGuire household.

She didn’t know about the arrangement until she was in the eighth grade. It was so ridiculous, she thought Norman was joking with her. She had always considered Dwayne as her brother. Never more. Never less. She began to resent him when Dwayne forced his romantic feelings on her. No matter how hard she tried, she’d never been able to make them understand.

Rovik voiced his opinion that the arrangement was self-serving and distasteful. “I never would’ve thought people still practiced arranged marriages in this day and age. Do you know why your mother agreed to give you to the McGuires?” he asked.

“Norman said it was a boon.”

“A boon? What is this, a medieval era?”

“He said Mom owed him a favor. Big time. And this was the only way for me to repay that favor.”

“What kind of favor are we talking about? Do you know?”

“It happened when they were young. He saved my mom in a tight spot. I’m not clear about how that went down. He just insisted I must pay him back that favor.”

“I know bullshit when I hear it.” He snorted in disgust. “Do you ever think he just took advantage of you by claiming your mother owed him a favor?”

“It crossed my mind. But Mom signed a document that appointed him my legal guardian if something happened to her.” Emily slouched in her seat. “In many ways, I do owe him for taking me into his home. I would have ended up in the foster system otherwise.”

“But forcing you to do something you didn’t want wasn’t right either. I’d say it’s downright modern day slavery,” said Rovik heatedly. “How about the sheriff’s wife? What’s she have to say about the ridiculous arrangement?”

“Ah.” Emily paused. “His first wife, Erin, died shortly after Dwayne was born. Then he got remarried and the second wife, Roxanne, also died after she gave birth to Kenny. Norman never dated after that.”

“So Dwayne has a younger brother?”

“Yeah. Kenneth. He’s okay, I guess. Kenny’s a year younger than me.”

“How did Norman’s exes die?”

“I was told it was complications from childbirth. Nothing sinister, if that’s what you mean. Both Erin and Roxanne were too weak to be pregnant.”

Judging from the expression on his face, Rovik wasn’t completely sold. Emily couldn’t blame him. The McGuire’s family tragedies were well-known by people in the town. Some said the McGuires were cursed. She recalled many female family members from Norman’s side had short life expectancy. Mostly due to high-risk pregnancy issues. The women could lead a normal healthy life but once they got pregnant, it was their death sentence. The babies would survive at the expense of their mother’s demise.

“Tell me more about Dwayne,” said Rovik. “Was he abusive to you?”

“Dwayne?” Emily shook her head. “He never laid a hand on me. But he doesn’t like anyone getting too close to me.”

Dwayne was the reason she stopped working at a small insurance office after she graduated from high school. The company employed mostly female workers. Dan Painter, the owner, was the only guy who worked in there and he was close to sixty.