His Slave

60. Home

I hold James' hand as we drive, afraid that if I let him go, he'll vanish and my rescue will have been nothing more than a vivid hallucination.

"How did you even get onto the estate grounds?" I ask, because if I don't break the silence I'm going to go crazy.

James shrugs. "In order to keep anyone from getting suspicious, they did use Persona for their security systems, so it shows up in the system that the estate is protected by the software," he explains.

"By the time the guards realized the gates were opening without their authorization it was already too late," he adds, that delinquent glint in his eyes.

"You hacked your own company's software?" I ask, a bit surprised. I didn't even know James could hack, though I shouldn't be surprised.

He glances at me sidelong, smirking.

God I've missed his cocky, ill-intentioned smile.

"Saying that I 'hacked' Persona's operating system implies that it required effort," he retorts, making me laugh.

"But if they did use Persona, why wasn't the system able to pick up my DNA?" I ask in confusion.

"They probably have illegal signal blockers in their vehicles and all over the grounds," he guesses.

I nod.

"Are the Governor and his wife alright?" I ask. They're such kind people, I'd hate for anything to happen to them.

James nods. "Yes, but twelve people died, and forty-one were injured in the explosions," he says sadly.

Oh god. "That's awful," I whisper in response. "How did you find me?" I ask, wanting to change the subject.

"I might have convinced the police to agree to let a certain hacker assist them in their search," he replies coyly.

"Anna," I gasp in realization. Of course! Kendra had said they'd need to be hacking the system to even find my DNA signature, and they were.

"She's missed you," he tells me. "Everyone has," he then adds softly. "We were all doing everything we could to find you and Kylie."

He rubs his thumb across the back of my hand soothingly. "But no one missed you more than me," James adds tenderly, squeezing my hand.

"I... I didn't know if you were alright." I clamp my eyes shut as the tears start to fall. I'm not sure why I say it, but I guess a part of me needs to say it. Needs him to know that I was worried about him too.

"When I watched that ceiling collapse on you, I was terrified that you... that you... were-."

"Oh, my darling Erin," James says, interrupting me. "I'm here. I'm okay," he says gently.

I open my eyes, realizing that he's pulled over on the side of the road and unbuckled his seat belt.

"I'm not going anywhere," he whispers, unbuckling my seat belt and pulling me into his lap.

He presses a kiss to my forehead before I bury my face in the crook of his neck, taking in his sweet scent of leather and pine. Fuck, I missed that smell. I missed this car, and my friends, and the library, and most of all, James.

I've missed three weeks of my life.

The realization slams into me and I can't help it. I start to sob. "She had no right," I bawl, unsure if James can even understand me through my tears.

"If it's any consolation, she's probably going to spend the rest of her life in prison," James assures me.

I pull away from him, meeting his gaze as I wipe at my tears roughly. "Does knowing that make you feel any better?" I ask him.