The message sends, and for a second I think about disappearing. Taking her and driving until the road runs out. But where would we go? Every highway leads back to the same end.
When I walk back inside, she’s crying. Quietly, like she’s trying not to make a sound. The sight of her guts me.
I drop to my knees beside the bed. “Hey.”
She flinches. Looks at me like I’m the monster in her story. Maybe I am.
She wipes her face with her free hand. “Are you going to kill me?”
The question rips through me. “No.” I reach up, brush a tear from her cheek with my thumb. “No, Chloe. I don’t want to hurt you. I’d never want that.”
“Then what the hell is this?” Her voice cracks, and it hurts to hear it. “You’re keeping me against my will. I’m tied up—”
“I’m doing this to keep you safe,” I say, too fast.
“Safe?”
I admit, “I know things you don’t. You need to trust me.”
She shakes her head. “I’ll never trust you.”
That hits harder than any punch.
I stand up, pace the room. Her words are stuck in my head now.
My girl had grown up in an abusive household, much like mine. Was that why her soul called to mine? Is that what bound us together? Is that why I love…
Her eyes narrow. “Untie me!”
“I can’t.”
“Why the fuck not, Miles!?” she fires back, and there’s something feral in her voice now. “You and Jamie—secrets, half-truths. I didn’t know who you really were. Can you just let me go please? You have no idea what’s going to happen if you don’t let me go right fucking now!”
I kneel in front of her, take her face in my hands. “Princess,” I say, and her breath catches. “He hurt you. That’s not something you deserved.”
She blinks, confusion flickering behind her eyes. “What? What are you talking about?”
“Your dad.”
Her face hardens. “How would you know?”
“Because I’ve seen men like him. I’ve done things for men like him.” My throat tightens. “I’ll make him pay.”
“How?”
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “But I will.”
The silence stretches between us, heavy. Her lips tremble. I don’t think. I just move.
I kiss her.
It’s soft at first, a question neither of us wants to answer. Then she stiffens, pushes back, and before I can react, pain explodes across my lip.
She bit me. Hard enough to taste blood.
I pull back, breathing hard. She’s glaring at me, eyes blazing. “Don’t touch me,” she says, voice shaking. “Ever again.”
I drag my tongue across my split lip, the metallic taste grounding me.
