Dane

"You mean in case he kills you," she said in a dark voice.

​​

"I mean in case of any number of things," Dane said hoarsely. "I've told you what he's like, what lengths he'll go to… but I haven't told you how he does what he does—the things he uses to control people. We need to plan for the worst and hope for the best. I'm going to tell how it works when he's putting the screws on someone. And I'm going to tell you how to endure it… whether he does it to you, or to me."

She put a hand to her mouth and pulled him even closer. They clung to each other as Dane whispered the worst of what human beings could do to each other, the means his father used to move a person, to manipulate them. And what they were going to do about it if he tried.

Dane was trembling five minutes in. The trauma of his childhood, of the things he'd learned and seen later, rushing back to haunt him—but this time with Lila's eyes, her skin, her shrieks. But he was relentless—she had to understand. He had to equip her—how to keep herself safe from some of the more sinister strategies his father used. And how she would need to bear it if he got his hands on Dane—how they'd keep themselves and everyone else safe.

"...It's all taken care of, Lila. You just… you just have to do it. You just have to live it."

Tears made tracks down her cheeks, and her shoulders shook with a sob. And honest-to-God he wanted to cry too. This was all too much.

Then they were done. He'd told her everything. She knew everything. And she could handle it, he knew. Despite her tears, her eyes were sharp and she continued being more concerned about his safety than her own.

"I love you, Dane... so much," she said into his neck.

"I don't deserve you," he whispered. She needed to know. But she just shushed him and kissed him again, her cheeks wet with her tears.

Getting out of bed and saying goodbye almost killed him. She was brave at the door when he was actually leaving, but he knew she'd start crying again as soon as the door closed behind him.

It was still dark when he headed back across the bridge, but he wasn't going to rest. He felt like his insides were being torn in half. But it just made him even more determined to find his father and end this.

*****

Lila

Before he walked out the door, he stopped and turned, his eyes a little too wide, and he touched her face. "I'll be back. Probably tomorrow. No matter what, you don't open that door unless it's me or Chris on the other side of it, you understand?"

"I know. Don't worry."

He nodded, then pulled her into his chest and rested his head on her hair. "It's a few hours, Lila, that's all. I promise."

She shrugged. She hoped so. But even a few hours would feel like an eternity—and he was going to get stuck with other people. Not be able to get away. She knew it.

He kissed her one last time, whispered that he loved her, then he was gone.

She was still staring at the locked door, fighting a screaming fear that it was the last time she'd ever see him, when the burner phone she'd left on the table buzzed. When she turned it on, there was a text.

YOU ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD. AND I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE HE NEVER TOUCHES A HAIR ON YOUR HEAD.

She sighed and touched the screen. She loved that he was determined, that he wanted her safe. But she feared that he'd be so busy keeping her safe that he wouldn't care for himself. That he wouldn't believe he deserved to be protected.

Her heart beat so fast, and it was pure fear. She knew she wouldn't relax until he came through that door again.

He'd said he had to keep the phone a secret, so there'd be times it would have to be turned off, or he couldn't answer. She knew it was necessary. But it was so hard just sitting there, not knowing what was going on, or whether he was okay.

Despite the very early hour, she was wide awake. After texting back how much she loved him, she turned and looked at the room.

With a huff, she picked up a blanket from the basket next to the fire and let herself slump on the couch.

It was going to be a very, very long day.

*****

Dane

He needed to sleep, but he was wired. Between loving Lila and his desperate awareness of the hands of his father closing in, he felt like he wouldn't sleep for a week. So instead he opened the bank of monitors and databases in his wall. No one else was going to expect him for another two or three hours. He was going to spend that time making sure they hadn't missed anything yesterday. He was going to go through Tish's story with a fine-tooth comb before he was forced to meet with the Police.

It was the one thing he hadn't told Lila, knowing it would scare her.

He had agreed to go into the station that morning and give a statement answering the accusations from Tish that he was involved in her disappearance.

It was annoying, and tricky, but he knew there was enough evidence against Tish to at least bring her accusations into question. The problem would only be if he had another dirty detective, someone working with his father, trying to create heat—to make Dane back off.

But for some reason, Dane suspected that wasn't the route his father would take this time.

Douglas Daniels enjoyed being creative and surprising people. No, he'd already thrown the law enforcement book at Dane in the past, so Dane had already learned that lesson. His father would want to teach him something new this time. The question was, what would it be?

Dane just prayed he had what it took to face it.

.

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