“Stop!” I shouted.
She didn’t, because of course she wouldn’t. I don’t even know why I said it.
I cut left, angling to intercept her. She was heading downhill now, toward the drainage ditch, and I knew if she hit it at full speed, she’d either twist her ankle or—
She hit it.
She fell hard, skidding down the incline, tumbling once before landing flat on her side in the leaves. She let out a defeated groan.
“Eden!” The name tore out before I could stop it.
She was crawling, dirt clinging to her palms and hair. I reached her just as she started to rise again, her legs shaking. She turned when she heard me coming, eyes wide with not just pure, unfiltered terror… but determination. She wasn’t done yet; she was going to keep trying to run.
I lunged, wrapping both arms around her, dragging us down to the ground.
“No, let me go!” she screamed, nails digging into my forearm, kicking wildly. She drew blood, I knew she did. I could feel the cool sting of the air against the fresh wounds.
I rolled, pinning her beneath me, holding her arms above her head with one hand as she twisted beneath me like— well, like a woman fighting for her life. I could easily grip both of her wrists in one hand, and as she pulled, I felt them try to separate from her hand with the force of her struggle. I caught her leg between my knee and the ground so she couldn’t get leverage.
“Stop,” I growled. “You’re hurt.”
“I don’t care! Get off…”
“Look at yourself!” I pressed against her to stop the frantic squirming. My masked face was nearly totally against hers, eye-to-eye.
She paused just long enough to notice her forearms scraped raw. Her leg was bleeding from where she must’ve caught it on a broken branch. Her breath hitched.
“You dove out of a moving car,” I snapped. “Do you want to die? Because I can take you back to those men, if you want. Or you can shut the hell up and listen.”
Her chest heaved, and her lower lip quivered in a way that hurt me. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because they want you dead.” My voice dropped. “And I didn’t spend this longnotkilling you just to have someone else do it.”
She stared at me. Her eyes drifted to my arms: the tattoos that covered my flesh. I saw it click in her face.
Even with the mask, she knew.
She swallowed. “You’re the guy from the cafe. The one always at the corner table.”
I didn’t respond.
“You’ve been watching me,” she whispered, the realization settling in her gaze.
“I was supposed to kill you,” I said, putting the truth on the table. “And now I’m not. That should tell you everything.”
She went quiet.
My voice lowered. “I’m going to take you somewhere safe. You’ll get patched up. You’ll get the answers you want.”
I pulled back just enough to meet her eyes.
“But I need to trust you. If I can’t… if you run again, I’ll knock you out and throw you in the trunk. And I won’t feel bad about it atall.”
She blinked, breathing ragged as she stared up at me. Then she gave the smallest nod.
“I won’t run,” she said.
I didn’t move right away. I studied her face to make sure.
