The tension between them was evident as the automobile journey back to Daniel's estate was a heavy quiet devoid of uttered words. Emily sat next to Daniel; her body stiff and her eyes fixed straight ahead, away from his view. She was physically protected now, but there was a wall between them—one not there before. Every look she turned away from him, Daniel could feel it in the way she kept her arms firmly crossed over her chest as if she were shielding herself from him.
His chest tightened at the sight of her messy look—the bruises on her wrists from being tied up, the dirt smudges on her cheeks, and the way her normally perfectly in place hair draped loosely over her shoulders. He had done everything to rescue her, but he had not been quick enough to shield her from the anguish of bein
