She ignored him and sped up.
“Hey. I’m talking to you.”
Loud footsteps thumped behind her.
She didn’t glance over her shoulder, but she didn’t need to do so to know he was close.
“Why are you still here?” Carlos shouted.
“Leave me alone.”
“Leaveyoualone? You come intomytown, a walking reminder of the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, and you wantmeto leaveyoualone?”
Bonnie walked so fast she was almost jogging. And she hated that. She hated having to run from this man.
“Did you think we’d all forget?” Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and spun her, strong fingers digging into her skin. Then he got so close, she could feel his breath on her face. “I willneverforget. And I will never let thistownforget.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Carlos, but if you don’t release my arm, I will.”
“I will follow you.Tormentyou. Ensure every move you make is so uncomfortable that you wish you’d stayed away.”
Her skin chilled, and for a moment the threat paralyzed her. The rage in the man’s voice. The way he said the words with such conviction.
“Get the fuck off her!”
She jumped at the fury in the new voice. New but familiar.
Zane.
He appeared beside her, but Carlos didn’t release her arm.
“Stay out of this, boy,” Carlos seethed through gritted teeth.
Zane inched closer to Carlos, almost stepping between them. “You have two seconds to release her before I break your wrist.” He said the words slowly, firmly, the threat alive in the air.
Carlos’s chest rose and fell, and for a moment, anger blackened his eyes. Then, finally, he let go of her and stepped back.
He glared at Zane before turning back to her. “Remember what I said.”
Zane watched the back of him until Carlos crossed the road, then turned to her. “Are you okay?”
No. She wasn’t close to okay. She was angry and sad and frustrated all at the same time. “I’m fine.”
Zane touched her arm, right where Carlos’s fingers had been. But where that man’s grip had been hard and painful, Zane’s was soft, almost soothing.
He lifted her arm and trailed his thumb over the red marks. His expression darkened, rage settling over his face. “I’m going to kill him.”
He started to turn but she grabbed his arm. “No. Please don’t.”
“Then I’ll call the sheriff’s station. Make a report.”
“What will that do? Carlos doesn’t care about getting into trouble, he just wants me gone. Besides, I can’t report everything that everyone in this town does to me. I’d be there every day.”
Suddenly, she questionedeverything. Her reasons for coming back. The vision of her life if she stayed here. Heck, she wasn’t even able to buy a car.
“Hey.”
Zane’s voice pulled her back to him.
