Claimed by Tara Crescent Page B

the library. “This time, I looked in the playroom first,” he said, his voice rueful. “Can I come in?”
    “It’s your house,” I pointed out.
    He came and sat next to me on the couch. “If we could have gone anywhere else, we would have.”
    “I know.” My voice was strained. “It’s not you I’m angry at. It’s just the situation.” I sighed. “Hanoi was a blur, but do you remember how at the end, I just stared at Dylan’s body?” As soon as I spoke those words out aloud, I realized Dylan was his father and I’d asked him to bring to the forefront a memory that had to be difficult for him. “Sorry,” I muttered.
    He shook his head. “I’m here for you,” he said. He pulled me towards him so my back was to his chest. His arms were laced around my waist, making me feel safe and protected. “You can tell me anything, Ellie. Yes, I do remember that.”
    “I do it because I can’t forget,” I explained. “The memories don’t recede. They never do. So, I have to find a good memory to layer over the bad one. When I wake up screaming from the memories of Dylan hurting me, I can focus on the image of his dead body to soothe myself.”
    He made a small sound of distress in his throat, then kissed my neck gently.
    “Except,” I continued, “I don’t think there’s any way I’ll be able to suppress Abeokuta. I was locked in a tiny room for almost six months. There were no windows. If I wanted to relieve myself, there was a pail in the corner. Once a day, I was permitted to shower and to clean out my own pail. But apart from that, the only time I was ever allowed out was when Dylan wanted to use me.”
    The memories were coming fast and furious now, and I was starting to shake. “After six months, Dylan decided I’d been trained sufficiently, so I was allowed a room with a window. I’d only seen brief periods of sun for so long, my eyes hurt to stare outside.”
    “Ellie,” he started, sounding hopeless.
    “I’m sorry I’m telling you this. I know I’m just dumping my problems on you.”
    “Hardly that, don’t you think? He was my father.” His voice was strained.
    “You didn’t do this to me. He did.” I exhaled. “I’m afraid of that place, Alexander. I used to have panic attacks all the time. Even after I learned to defend myself.”
    “Then we won’t go.”
    “Tell me,” I asked. “Do we really have other good choices?”
    “Only one and it’s one I don’t like,” he admitted. His voice was reluctant. “We could split up.”
    I remembered what he’d said to me last night. He didn’t think he could survive if I left. And I felt the same way. Leaving Alexander now, to fend for himself in the face of this danger from Lucien, that betrayal would break me far, far more than revisiting Dylan’s old estate would.
    “I’m not going anywhere without you,” I told him. “I’ll be fine. I have you to lean on, right?”
    “You always have me to lean on, bright star.” His words were a promise and I took comfort in them. I was going to need all his help to lay these final memories to rest.

Chapter 9
    Alexander:
    We sat in silence for a few minutes, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Then I squeezed her hand. “I have some other news that might cheer you up.”
    “What’s that?” She tried to smile at me. She was making an effort to pull herself out of the bleak mood she’d fallen into, though I hoped she didn’t feel like she needed to be falsely cheerful on my account. I wanted to experience all of her. I needed Ellie to reveal herself to me, the good bits and the bad bits. I had so much to learn about her. I couldn’t wait for this whole bullshit to be over, so we could start living our lives together.
    “No one knows about my house in Saint Denis,” I replied. “Except for you and Jean-Luc. There’s absolutely no paperwork that connects me to it. Which means that that’s where we are spending the rest of the day.”
    “We don’t fly out right