When I looked at her, I saw past the fear and to the woman who had once meant everything to me.
“I don’t really carewhysomeone is watching you. All that matters is that you’re safe,” I said, voice low but firm. “From now on, you don’t do this alone.”
Skye blinked at me. “What?”
I stepped closer, every nerve on high alert, every protective instinct snapping into place.
“I’ll help you,” I added, softer. “With the documentary, with your tech, whatever. You need someone watching your back while you’re in town.”
Her mouth parted, her expression trembling between shock and relief.
If someone was coming for Skye, threatening her safety, they’d have to go through me first.
No amount of time spent apart could change that.
10
Skye
IstaredatFox,wonderingwhether I’d hallucinated what he’d said.
But the sincerity was stark in his expression. Sincerity I didn’t deserve.
“You don’t have to.” I hugged my arms tight around me. “I can figure this out.”
He shook his head, like he was dismissing that train of thought. “You could, but you don’t have to.”
And that was all I needed to stop fighting him. I’d been feeling so in over my head. Ever since I’d seen that bracelet, I’d felt unstable, like I couldn’t find a steady foothold. Just hearing his offer of help made me feel more grounded.
Maybe he saw the acceptance in my expression, because he picked up my laptop and glanced at Emersyn. “Stay with her.” He nodded toward me. “I’m going to talk to August and see what kind of security system we can get set up out here quickly.”
Emersyn nodded. “Yeah, of course.” Worry flickered in her eyes as she glanced at me. “Are you sure it’ll be safe for her to stay out here by herself…even with the new system?”
Fox’s gaze was heavy on me as I addressed Emersyn. “I’ll be fine,” I assured her. “But I’m not sure about getting a security system out here. This is a rental. I don’t want to get in trouble with the owners, and it would be a wasted expense anyway…”
“You won’t be paying for anything,” Fox murmured.
I turned back to him. His stare was slightly unfocused, like he was deep in thought. “Fox—”
“Emersyn’s right.” He cut me off, nodding as if he’d already made a decision. “It would be best if you stayed somewhere else. Somewhere less secluded.”
“And where am I supposed to go?” I frowned. “There’s no hotels in town. This was the closest rental I could find.”
He looked at me like I was missing something obvious, and my stomach clenched. I shook my head before he even said the words.
“You’d be better off staying at my parents’ bed-and-breakfast. It’s secure there.”
The mere thought had panic ricocheting through me.
Raleigh and Warner Ramsey had turned their beautiful, big Victorian home into a bed-and-breakfast since I’d been gone. It had come up in my search for a place to stay in the area, but seeing that home, even online in the pictures, had brought on a world of painful memories.
Painful, because that house had once been home to me, too.
When Fox and I had started dating, his mother had welcomed me with open arms. She always made me feel comfortable and cared for. I didn’t know how much she knew of my life living with my father, butshe never asked questions when I stayed late or hung out there before school. The Ramseys had made me feel like I belonged.
And I’d just…disappeared.
I had broken their son’s heart and left town.
