Free Captivated: Return to Earth by Ashlynn Monroe Page A

rabble of voices was
disturbing to her. She had no idea how her guys were handling it. When she
tried to get a read on their emotions by looking at their faces Dawson and
Nebraska were too busy gazing all around at the terminal for her to see
anything clearly. Security kept them moving. Cade lagged behind and she
couldn’t see him. She wished she’d prepared the boys better. She wished she’d been prepared too. This wasn’t what she’d been promised, but if this was the
cost to have them there she’d pay it.
    Dawson wore rugged, dirty flannel and torn denim. He smelled
of hard work and masculinity. The scent brought back a host of memories. Some
were great, but others still haunted her nightmares. His brown hair was long
and tied into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck. He gazed at her with
his dark brown eyes and such intense longing his need stole her breath. She
took his hand, pressing their palms together tight and lacing his fingers with
hers.
    “It’ll be okay,” she whispered for Dawson’s ears alone.
    Cade and Nebraska were still behind them. She didn’t like
how sick Cade looked. His dark blond hair lacked luster, and his cheeks were
hollower than she remembered. He’d almost died on Utopia. He was so thin her
first sight of him had made her stomach clench. Nebraska was tall with shaggy
black hair, and he was just as beautiful as ever. When he was ready to look for
work she was going to suggest modeling.
    The terminal exit loomed from the opposite end of the
gauntlet of media. The big glowing Welcome to Chicago sign was lit up.
Lights danced around the doorway cheerily. The sun looked supernaturally bright
after being in the dim building. She made her way in the direction of freedom,
but when terrified screams erupted behind her, she stopped and turned back. The
blinding flashes set the scene of the dim interior as a surreal strobe light.
Bright snaps flickered from every angle.
    Cade knocked the grabby-hands journalist out cold. Raising
his chin, he challenged the encroaching crowd to a fight with his rebellious
glare. He was very tall and his muscular frame loomed imposing and dangerous as
he stared down at the crowd. His gray eyes were unblinking steel. Reporters
thrust microphones in his face, screaming questions about Utopia, and fighting
to get as close as possible to the front of the crowd.
    “Can Francesca really love all three of you now that your
ordeal is over? Did you plan to save her or use her when you bought her from
the alien?” shouted the male newsperson who’d managed to get his way past the
barricade set up by Virgin Galactic security. The media had filled in the
blanks in her story with embarrassing accuracy.
    Her mind played back the moment she knew she was theirs. The
moment she’d let herself honestly belong to them on a day she never imagined
she’d be rescued or able to rescue them.
     
    “What’s the matter, darlin’?” Cade asked with concern.
“There’s nothing to fear.”
    That was the problem. She was no longer afraid of
losing herself, because she’d done it already. “I’ve given up. This is what the
rest of my life will be.”
    A darkness entered his expression. “It won’t be so
bad,” he replied gruffly. “You make it sound as if we’re hurting you.”
    They hadn’t hurt her, but she hadn’t made the choice
to live here. “I just never thought my life would end like this,” she
explained.
    “End?” Cade asked angrily. “This isn’t the end of
anything except the dark days. You’re alive. I’m sorry if you can’t go back to
your fancy job and life, but we’ll give you all we have to offer.”
    “I’m not asking for anything. I just don’t want to be
forced to suffer on—”
    “Suffer? I heard you screaming for Dawson this
morning, darlin’. That didn’t sound much like sufferin’ to me,” Cade
interrupted. She’d never seen him this angry. He was always the levelheaded
one. “You can leave at any time and end your