Read Online Away From the Sun by Jason D. Morrow - Free Book Online

her.”
    “It’s not a bad thing,” he says. “That’s called love.”
    His eyes meet mine for a second, but I look away from him and stare into the barrel. I don’t want Gabe to love me, if that’s what he is getting at. What am I saying? He has already gotten to that. I’m not ready for it. Not sure I ever will be.
    “How did you end up here anyway?” Gabe asks, changing the subject.
    “I was at the hospital, looking for information about Paxton’s daughter.”
    “And they caught you?”
    “More like rescued me,” I say. I shudder to think about how close I had been to killing myself. If it weren’t for Stephen and his men, I would be dead and eaten by now.
    I clear my throat. “But before they got to me, I found my ticket back into Crestwood. I just feel a little strange using it.”
    His eyes widen and he stands a little straighter. “You found his daughter?”
    “No, but just about as good. I found his granddaughter. She’s here. Her name is Evie.”
    “That’s it then,” he says. “You’re good to come back with me.”
    “But I can’t just take her,” I say. “These people have been taking care of her since she was born. It would be horrible to steal her away.”
    Gabe looks away from me and back into the fire. I can tell thoughts are racing through his head. “Did you find any documents about his daughter?”
    “I did, but nothing that says she’s deceased. Only that she had a baby. There’s no way for me to get into Crestwood without Paxton learning of his granddaughter. Believe me, I’ve thought it through a lot.”
    “Wow,” he says. “That’s quite a position you’re in. Do you think Paxton would want to take her?”
    “Of course,” I say. “It’s all he has of his own flesh and blood. Wouldn’t you want to take her?”
    “I guess. The girl would probably be safer at Crestwood than here.”
    “Except that Shadowface runs the show,” I say.  
    “I suppose this meeting we’re going to is about Shadowface?” Gabe says.
    “I would say so.”
    “So, did you see him?”
    “I’m not sure,” I say. “And it could have been a she.”
    “Oh, I never really thought about that.”
    “I guess that’s the point. Shadowface doesn’t want you to know if he’s a she or a he.”
    “No, I guess not.”
    A voice breaks into our conversation. We both turn and see Stephen walking up. “Meeting’s about to start,” he says. “You two will join us, won’t you?”
    “Of course,” Gabe says.  
    “I don’t even really know why you’re having a meeting,” I say to Stephen. “You know you can’t just ally yourself with Shadowface.”
    “Clearly you’ve never led a settlement,” he says with a smirk. “Come on, let’s get some opinions out in the air.”
    “I thought that’s what I just did,” I say.  
    “Other than your own, I meant.”
    Gabe and I follow Stephen into the office building. The hallway isn’t busy. There are few people around. I guess most of them are trying to stay warm in their rooms. He leads us up a flight of stairs and down another long hallway until we come into an old, large conference room. It’s the type of room, that was no doubt used for big business meetings. There’s a giant table in the middle with swivel chairs all around it. There are a lot more people in here than I expected. I nod a curt hello to Mitch, who stares at me as I walk in. The guy sort of gives me the creeps. I don’t know what it is about him, but he seems preoccupied in a weird way. The entire trip back to Elkhorn, he kept asking Stephen and me questions. He started out asking us about where we are from, but he kept going. He asked us about our childhood, and what our relationships with our grandparents were like. To say it felt strange is an understatement.  
    Next to him is, I think, his girlfriend, Ashley. Then there’s his father who smells like he just came out of a burning building. On the other side of the table is Waverly. She looks up at me with her