“But that’s fine. That’s totally fine. That’s yourright. You can do that if you want. But let’s talk about that. You. Let’s talkabout how you left me, since we still haven’t really addressed the fuckingheartbreak I went through. You didn’t show up and you didn’t show up and youdidn’t show up and then finally I woke the fuck up and started asking aroundabout you. Did someone take my girl? Did something happen to my girl? Butnobody knew. Fucking nobody. Then they started asking me the same questions.First your dad, which was fine. I can handle Leon Valero. But then the bossesshowed up, Caro. Just imagine what I thought when they came to visit me, askingfor your whereabouts. And then the FBI came. ‘Where’s Caroline Valero? Wherethe hell is Caroline Valero?’ Nobody seems to know. Least of all me, theasshole trapped in a federal penitentiary with zero chance of early parole.
“So yeah, Caroline, by the time I got out, I wastired. Tired of the life. Tired of fighting every day just to keep breathing.Tired of it all. So I grabbed the only person I had left in this world and wemade our way west to set up a life I had only dreamed about. And then whathappened? You fill in the blank.”
When I didn’t immediately respond, he growled, “Go on,Six. Fill in the blank. What happened next?”
I wiped at tears I only just now realized werefalling. But there was fire in my voice when I bit back, “I don’t know, Sayer.I can’t fill in the blank because I don’t know what happened next.”
“I found the girl everybody’s looking for. The girlthat promised she would stick by me through all the shit, the girl that sworeshe would never leave me. She was here all along. Had I thought that myex-girlfriend was going to take my dream and turn it into her own without so muchas a postcard to deliver a proper fuckyou,I wouldhave handed over that information a long time ago. The brothers? They can haveyou. The FBI too. I don’t care what you’re doing here Caroline, but whatever itis has nothing to do with me. And the same goes for my business here. Itdoesn’t have anything to do with you. So stay out of it.”
He was warning me to stay out of his business?Hilarious.
“Did you just bring a whole bunch of trouble into mylife, Sayer? Is an army going to come looking for you and find me instead?”
Something flashed in his eyes. Something I couldn’tdecipher. But it was sharp enough that I didn’t trust his next words. “Mybusiness with them is settled. If they come here it will be for you. Not me.”
“Your business is settled, huh?”
“Settled.”
“Then what’s with the note? What’s with the cabin? Ifyou want a life of peace and quiet why do you keep causing chaos in mine?”
His jaw ticked once. Twice. His tell. But what was hetelling me? “You’ve somehow managed to stay under the radar for five years. Thenote was a favor. You run now and they will find you. They have not stoppedlooking. They won’t ever stop looking. At least not for Frankie. You run againand it’s only a matter of time.”
“Frankie’s not with me.”
“Don’t pull that shit with me. I know better.”
Chewing on my bottom lip until I tasted blood, Idecided it wasn’t worth it. Clearly Sayer had done enough research on me toknow the basics of my life here. It wouldn’t have taken anything to findFrankie once he found me. I just had to hope that he hadn’t discovered Julietyet.
“Do I have your word that you’re not going to bringthe hounds of hell down on me? Can I trust you not to run back to your brothersand give all this away?”
His head tilted and for the first time since we’dstarted our conversation I noticed the elongated scar across his middle. Afterall these years, he had never told me how he’d gotten it. He’d never shared hissecrets. And yet I was the one surprised when he turned out to be a liar. Silly,Caroline.
“Do you trust my word?” he asked.
I lifted my chin and stared him down until I couldn’tsee straight. I stared until I knew I was seconds from breaking down in tears,until there was no breathable air between us anymore. “No,” I answered himsimply.
Before he could say anything else, I spun around andfled the bathroom. I noticed his glasses on the bedside table and that was thelast straw. There was something about seeing them that broke me.
My reaction was stupid.So stupid.I should be scared for my life. I should be angry he was staying in Frisco. Butthere was something about that tiny weakness that dug at my armor. When did heget glasses? How bad was his vision? Was it simply because he was closer tothirty? Or was it because of something that happened to him while he was inprison?
I covered my mouth to stifle the sob that would notwait and ran to the ATV. I got out of his driveway and down a secluded accessroad before I had to pull over. I covered my face with my hands and finally letthe tears fall.
It hurt to see him.So much. He had every right to rail at me, to throw my sins back inmy face. Butdamn, it hurt.
And this place. Oh God, this place.
I had never given him credit for this town. Not once.It had been my idea. I had been the one that wanted to run away to some obscureplace in the middle of America. I had been the one that decided on themountains. I had been the one that had researched whether or not we could hidehere.
“So if you’reoff the whole Midwest corn and country kick, what about Frisco?”
“Where’s that?”I slung my bare leg over his naked thigh and pressed my body closer to his,loving the feel of us fitted together like this. Our feet rubbed together,teasing and enticing and comforting.
“Colorado,” hesaid simply. “It’s the one with the mountains.”
“I know Coloradohas mountains.”
I felt his smilewhen he kissed the top of my head. “I just like the sound of it. Frisco. It’sgot to be a real cowboy town, yeah?”
