“I’m not coming alone,” I said. The words tasted bitter, like admitting weakness, but I wasn’t willing to put myself back into a corner. Not again. Not after everything. Chain had moved on, and maybe I was supposed to as well, but right now my trust in men sat somewhere below shattered.
“You have to,” Zach said quietly. “Please, Lark. Just you. I swear you’ll be safe. I won’t push. I know things are… complicated now.”
The wordsafeslid over my skin wrong. Like a promise that needed convincing.
Still, my chest loosened a fraction.
“Where?” I asked.
“I’ll text you the address,” he said. “Just don’t bring anyone. I can’t take chances. I’ll explain when you get here.”
The line went dead before I could respond.
I stared at my phone, my reflection faint in the dark screen. My pulse beat loud enough I could feel it in my teeth.
“No,” Briar said immediately. “Absolutely not.”
“What if he’s telling the truth?” I whispered. “What if Sable and the kids really are in trouble?”
“And what if he’s lyin’?” Briar shot back. “What if this is how people disappear?”
“I don’t think he’d hurt me,” I said quietly. Saying it out loud steadied something in me, anchored it. “He might be scared. He might want something. But he’s never been that kind of man.”
Briar studied my face, really looked at me. “You sure about that?”
“I’m sure he cares,” I said. “Enough not to cross that line.”
My phone buzzed.
An address. No message. No explanation. Just a pin dropped into my life like a challenge.
I frowned at the screen. It wasn’t a place I recognized. Not a house. Not a business. Just a stretch of road marked by trees and nothing else.
“I can’t ignore this,” I said. “If something happens to Sable or those kids and I stayed home because I was scared—”
“You’re not going alone,” Briar said flatly.
“I can’t drag you into this.”
“I do what I want.” She leaned closer, voice low, hard with resolve. “And I’ve got a plan.”
I nodded. “Tell me.”
“I drive,” she said. “We get close, not right up on it. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere I can pull off without bein’ seen.”
My heart started pounding harder. “And then?”
“You switch seats,” she said. “You take the wheel. I stay hidden in the back.”
A chill slid down my spine. “Do you really think he’d hurt me?”
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “And I’m not lettin’ you find out alone.”
I hesitated. “What if he checks the car?”
“Why would he?” she said. “You’re doing exactly what he asked. And I’ll have my phone ready.”
That truth settled heavy in my chest.
