Among the Echoes (Wrecked and Ruined #2.5)(47)

Tears spring to my eyes at the very idea of going months without him. I just got him. "He can come with us. Please. I can’t. I just. I…" I begin to stumble out irrationally.

"I’m so sorry," Dave whispers, folding me into a hug.

I suck in a deep breath and try to collect my thoughts, but my mind is spinning. "Wait. Please just stop for a minute. I can’t think. How do you know this isn’t Wilkes? Maybe Slate has nothing to do with it?" I plead, looking for any possible way to keep him in my life.

"One of the big boys moved into our old apartment in Utah, hoping Wilkes would come looking for us there again. Well, lo and behold, a PI showed up at his f*cking door yesterday with a picture of you and asking a million questions about Jessica Lynn, a.k.a. Riley Peterson. Feds brought him in, traced it all back to Jimmy Douglas, Slate’s trainer and owner of the apartment. Jimmy doesn’t have access to that kind of money, Riley, but I’ll give you one guess who does."

"No." I reject his theory. "Slate's not dangerous. He’s just curious. Maybe I can tell him to back off. He’ll listen to me. Please, just let me talk to him."

"We have to leave before he gets back."

"No!" I yell again. "I am not leaving him!"

"He’s going to get you killed!" he shouts back in a way Dave has never spoken to me. It startles me at first, but suddenly, it dawns on me that he’s actually scared this time too.

"Yeah, well. I told you that months ago. And you said we could make it work. Make. It. Work."

"Fine. I’ll take the blame. But pack your shit!" he snaps, stomping out of my room. I know he's not mad at me. He's pissed at the whole situation, but his tone still stings.

I sit on my bed, staring into space for over an hour. Shifting from tears to fear, but I finally just get really angry. I have zero control over my life, and I’m sick and tired of it. They want me to recover and live again. That's a joke. How can anyone be expected to truly live with the knowledge that they can lose everything with only a moments notice? Fuck that. I'm not losing Slate. I rush out of my room to find Dave sitting on the couch, whispering into the phone.

"Give me the phone." I snap my fingers at him and his eyebrows lift in surprise.

In all the years that we have been on the run, I have never once spoken to anyone at the US Marshal’s office. Dave handles everything when it comes to the Witness Protection Program, or "big boys" as he calls them. I’m so f*cking done with hiding though.

I don’t wait for his response. I just snatch the phone from his hands.

"Who is this?" I bark into the phone.

"Miss Peterson, it’s so nice to finally talk to you." I can hear the smile in the woman’s voice on the other end of the line.

"Screw you. I’m not leaving."

"I’m sorry. You don’t have much of a choice in the matter. You have been compromised by Mr. Andrews."

"Nothing has happened. All we know is you didn’t do your job at covering our trail. So what if Slate found out we have a past. He’s not working for Wilkes. He’s not a f*cking threat, so I’m not f*cking leaving!"

"My, my. How you have changed since we last met." She almost laughs.

"You listen to me now. Do your f*cking job. Erase the past and ensure our safety. If a couple of high-price PIs can find me, it seems to me you are failing. We can move across town, fine. But I am absolutely not leaving Slate, so figure it out."

Just as I begin to hand back the phone, she shouts across the line. "Miss Peterson, you are allowed to leave the program any time you would like. Your identity can be reinstated. But just know that comes with zero protection. You will be completely on your own."

I laugh at her. If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that they need me. They won’t let me go. "But then who would you use as bait?" I throw the phone at Dave and storm back to my room, slamming the door behind me.

I’m lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling when Dave casually opens the door to my room. "That was some serious attitude."

"I’m sick of it. I hate this f*cking life. I finally found someone who makes me feel like me again and they want to take him away from me too." I don't even bother looking up.

"Damn it, Riley. I shouldn’t have let this happen. I should have taken you far away from here before you ever had the chance to get to know him, but the night that I walked in and saw you holding his arm, a part of me was freed."

"What?" I roll over, and the expression on his face shocks me. I always knew the events from that night had affected him too, but this? I never expected this level of devastation.

"When I walked in that first night, you were sound asleep but gripping his arm as if your life depended on it. Then, when he first got back, you ran right past me and into his arms. God, it was liberating watching you come alive again."

"Leo, I…" I fade off, and he painfully closes his eyes at the sound of his name.

He puts a finger to his mouth, signaling me to be quiet. "Erica, I have relived your screams while I stood outside your door all those years ago for too long. And when I saw just the tiniest flash of hope that you really could be a person again, I wanted you to take it. I told you once that I never thought you would be okay again, but that doesn’t mean I’ve ever stopped hoping you would." His voice catches in his throat and his brown eyes fill with tears as he tries to fight back the emotions.