Among the Echoes (Wrecked and Ruined #2.5)(64)

"It will break her heart to lose you, but you have to swear you will put her back in the program."

"No," I say simply, but that one single word makes him explode.

He suddenly pushes me back against the wall, holding a forearm against my throat. His eyes are feral and his chest heaves as he pins me. "God damn it. I’m not f*cking around here. Swear to me!" he roars.

"What’s wrong?" Erica questions as she rushes into the hallway. She’s soaking wet and wrapped in her bathrobe.

As if a switch was flipped, Leo instantly transforms. He takes a step away, plastering on a fake smile as he turns to look at her.

"Hey, babe. Your boyfriend here was just pissing me off. Same shit, different day." He smiles and takes a step toward her. "I’m going to go run some errands. You want me to pick up dinner?" he says nonchalantly, blatantly lying.

Her eyes flash between us, but even as I stand stunned, Leo looks positively unaffected. It doesn’t take but a few seconds before she lets go of her concern. Knowing Erica, she doesn’t really want to know if something is wrong anyway.

"No, I’m going to cook tonight."

"All right. Well, I’m heading out." He gives her shoulder a squeeze, but his emotions manage to escape from behind the mask.

"Where are you going?" she asks, sensing his discomfort.

"I’m just going to hit the store, maybe pick up some movies. Any requests?" He gives me a nod and turns to walk away.

"You’re lying," she calls as she follows him down the hall.

He walks towards the door, pausing only to pick up his duffel bag. "I’ll be back," he says, never turning to face her.

"Since when do you need a bag to go to the store? Seriously, where are you going?" she asks, and I can see the panic escalating inside her. I try to pull her into my arms, but she bats my hands away. "Where. Are. You. Going?" she finally yells at him.

He turns around but he doesn’t look at her. Instead, his eyes find mine. "You need to hold on to her. She can’t follow me down and make a spectacle on the streets."

"Where are you going?" she yells again while stepping up into his face. But even though she’s crowding him, he ignores her completely.

He holds my eyes from across the room and gives me one final plea, "Swear to me."

And with those words, I know without a doubt that this will be the last time I ever see Leo James. Where he is going and why are still a mystery, but as I look into his eyes, I know that he has absolutely no plans of returning.

"I swear," I respond even though I’m not sure I could ever let Erica go, but I have a feeling he needs to hear it.

He sucks in a deep breath and closes his eyes. A small smile of relief tilts the corner of his mouth as I can physically see the invisible weight lifted from his shoulders.

"Leo, please talk to me. Where are you going?" Erica begins to cry as she begs for the answers I can tell he has no intention of giving her.

He suddenly opens his eyes and pulls her into a hug, breathing in the scent of her damp hair. "I love you. You’re safe now, Erica."

Just as quickly as he pulled her against him, he pushes her away and walks out the door. Tears are streaming down her face as she screams his name, but Leo never once looks back. She rushes into the hall after him, but I loop her around the waist to stop her from following him any farther. He’s right—she can’t go out there making a scene in the middle of the streets, and I sure as hell can’t go down to stop her. She fights against my grip, but I hold her tight and carry her back into the apartment.

"You have to stop him," she says between sobs.

But what I only recognize now is that Leo was already gone before he ever even walked into the bedroom.





The day Leo left, Erica alternated between crying, pacing, calling his phone, and searching his room for clues about where he could be going. I had no idea what to do, and finally, I cornered her and gave her no other option but to lean on me. I didn’t restrain her, but I made it clear that she’s not in this alone. She finally relented and spent the night in my arms. She didn’t sleep, but she curled in tight and allowed me to at least share her emotional burden. She loves Leo, and by all accounts, he loves her too. Which is why his sudden departure makes absolutely no sense.

Leo left all the credit cards I had given him when he took off. And while I wasn’t really keeping up with the cash he spent, it doesn’t appear as though he took any money either. Which, to me, means he went back into the program or knew he wouldn’t live long enough to need money. Either way, it makes me really f*cking nervous. However, right now, Erica has to be my main focus. He would have told me if there was any immediate danger. I refuse to believe that he would ever turn his back on Erica without being absolutely certain she was safe, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t beefed up security.

Johnson hired three new guards within twelve hours of when Leo left. I made him the new head of security, but I’m definitely keeping my finger on the pulse now more than I did when Leo was running the show. Erica has never really snapped out of her walking trance. She mostly just moves between our bedroom and the rec room. Her nose stays stuck to her Kindle or she just stares into space. Gone is my Erica, the funny one who laughs and jokes around. She isn’t even the scared and timid Riley I originally met. She’s just lost.