Chapter Ten
HUGH
He followed behind her,repeatedly glancing over his shoulder in the direction of her house. The rain masked any noises the boat made as they moved farther away from her home.
A home that would have been their final resting place had she not run.
He should thank her for saving his life…again.
But he wouldn’t, not now. Not until she gave him what he’d been looking for.
Six months of talking and trying to convince Teddy to do the right thing had yielded more than just the ledger’s location. It had yielded a prize almost as comparable.
Honor.
It was official. Teddy was an idiot for risking whatever these two had going on. The picture he’d taken, which was sitting soggy in his wallet, had said more than words. She’d been blissfully unaware who she was creating a life with.
As the afternoon led into evening, Honor’s steps were slowing, and she was tripping more frequently. She was wan, and it was clear her energy was draining.
“I know you normally sleep during the day, but what time do you go to sleep?” he asked.
“Normally about now,” she said, without looking back.
“So, what was that back at your house?” he asked.
She stopped and spun around to face him. Water droplets continued in a steady stream down her face, dripping from her hair into her eyes and then down her cheeks.
Hugh crossed his arms in an attempt not to reach for her to wipe the water from her eyes. He scowled.
She rolled her eyes. “It was a test to see if you were going to kill me when I did go to sleep.”
His brows dipped. “I already told you I’m here to protect you.”
“Yeah, right,” she huffed. “Don’t kid yourself. You looked through every room in my house for that ledger while you thought I was sleeping. I’m not an idiot. I watched you.”
She turned and kept fighting against the current. With a shake of his head, he followed.
He should be ticked off that she’d watched him snooping through her things, but it didn’t matter. Instead, a smile slid onto his lips.
She was resourceful and spunky, making him like her even more.
The water seemed to have doubled and was over his waist. They walked to a point where the only way forward was to swim a short distance in order to reach the solid ground again. He had no idea where they were or where she was taking him, but she seemed determined.
The frigid water seemed to perk her up. Another ten minutes and they were headed up some sort of hill.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Now, we go to higher land.”
She struggled up the muddy mound, and he stayed behind her in the event her foot slipped.
He was cold and wet and fighting the shivers racking his body. There wasn’t a dry speck on him, and now his gun and the picture he’d stolen were ruined.
“We need to get out of this rain,” he said from behind her.
“It’s not much farther,” she said, continuing forward. “Just up the hill.”
Her idea of just up the hill took another ten minutes. Finally, they emerged from the smelly, cold water and got back on solid ground. They were out of the standing water, but the rain pouring down on them didn’t appear to be letting up.
He followed her down a fence line. They turned into a stand of trees backing up to expensive homes in a gated community. The kind maintained by landscapers, maids and servants. His shoulders knotted, knowing one of the owners or their staffs would call the law on them just because they both looked like drowned rats.
