Run Away With Me : A fast-paced psychological thriller by Daniel Hurst (free e novels TXT) 📗

‘I want to be with you,’ I tell him, because it’s the truth.

‘I know that, and I’m sorry for doing it. I just got scared for a moment, and then I couldn’t find the right time to put it back.’

‘You honestly thought I would call the police on you?’ I ask him as he hands me the sim card.

‘Not necessarily the police. Just a friend. Or Kat. I wouldn’t blame you if you did, but then she might tell the police and they could find us.’

‘Adam, I would never do anything to risk losing you,’ I reply, taking his hand. ‘I came here with you, didn’t I? I’m willing to leave everything else behind for you if that’s what it takes for us all to be together as a family.’

I place his hand on my stomach and look into his eyes, and I see the flicker of emotion across his face as he touches my bump.

‘I’m sorry,’ he says, and I accept it, although I feel a little upset when he pulls his hand away from me.

‘It’s okay,’ I tell him, because it is. At least there is a perfectly good explanation behind why my sim card was missing. He’s not keeping secrets from me, and he’s not trying to keep me disconnected from the outside world.

He’s scared.

Just like I am.

Adam takes a seat on the sofa, so I go over and join him, putting my sim back into my phone as I lay my legs across his lap and relax down into the comfortable leather. This would be just the kind of relaxing getaway I needed before giving birth if only we were here for vacation purposes and not because there is a chance there is a warrant out for our arrest.

‘You need to start telling me what you are thinking,’ I say to Adam as he runs his hand over my bare legs.

I’m in shorts today because I’ve hidden the dirty jogging bottoms at the bottom of the wardrobe. I’ll bundle them in with a wash later when I can get them out and get them into the washing machine without Adam seeing them.

‘Trust me, you don’t want to know what’s going on in my head,’ Adam replies, looking like a broken man and I imagine that he is.

He probably sees that body hitting his car every time he closes his eyes.

I want to distract him with something, just to take his mind off his troubles if only for a minute, so I unlock my phone and open the app where I have all my downloaded music saved. Then I locate the song I’m looking for and press play, and a couple of seconds go by before the cottage is filled with the sound of a slow and emotional piece of music.

Adam hears it and sees the smile on my face. I’m playing the song that I walked down the aisle to on our wedding day. We haven’t listened to it in ages, but I feel like it’s just the thing we need to remind ourselves of the commitment we made to each other.

I leave the song to play until it’s about halfway through before I speak.

‘I meant every word of the vows I made that day,’ I say, my mind drifting back to that magical occasion when I got to wear a beautiful flowing dress and Adam looked dapper amongst his groomsmen in their suits. ‘I’m not going to bail out now. No matter how hard things are or how much worse they might get. I’m always going to be by your side.’

Adam nods his head as he continues to trace his fingers slowly up and down my legs, and we stay that way until the song finishes. I can feel a few tears in my eyes as it does because I always get a little emotional when I hear that song, but I compose myself as I put my phone away and reach out for Adam’s hand.

‘Are you not cold dressed like this?’ he asks me, referring to my choice of skimpy shorts instead of my usual jogging bottoms.

‘I’m fine,’ I reply, brushing over the topic of conversation because I don’t want him to offer to go and get my jogging bottoms from upstairs and then find them covered in mud.

‘What time shall we go into the village to get more supplies?’ I ask, changing the subject.

‘I’ll just go by myself. You can stay here and rest.’

‘No, I want to come. I need to get out.’

‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t want anyone to see you. If they do and we end up getting caught, it will be harder to prove that you weren’t helping me try to evade the police.’

‘I think they’re going to know that I’m helping you if they go to our house and find out we’re both gone,’ I reply which makes sense to me, but Adam shakes his head.

‘No. It doesn’t matter if you’re gone. It doesn’t mean that you are helping me. I could have forced you to leave. I could be making you run against your will.’

‘But you’re not.’

‘I know that, but the police don’t. It means if they are looking for me and they do find me, then you can just say that I made you go with me and then you won’t get in any trouble. But you can’t use that defence if you are seen with me in public.’

‘I don’t want a defence. If you get caught, then we get caught together.’

‘Don’t be silly. One of us has to be around to look after Samuel. It can’t be me after what I’ve done, so it has to be you.’

‘Why are you talking like this?’

‘Like what?’

‘Like you’re already planning for us to get caught and for you to go to prison.’

‘Because we have to be realistic, Laura. This cottage is a good place to hide out for a few days, but it can’t last forever. We’re idiots