She scoffed. “That’s the truth. It’s always about you. You’re so caught up in yourself that you can’t see the forest for the trees!”
Blood pumped wildly in Zach’s ears. Lauren was standing right in front of him, but she wasn’t listeningto a word he was saying. “What about you, Miss Perfect? How dumb do you have to be to go walking around in the woods at night in a snowstorm?”
“I already admitted that was stupid. I understand the danger, but I’m not going to stop! I’m going to find him.” She pointed toward the front door. “If he’s out there, I’m going to find him. I know something is up. I know it in my bones.”
“You can’t be serious! Lauren, please give it up.” He’d never begged for anything in his life, but he wasn’t above it when Lauren’s safety was concerned.
“Anthony is out there! People have seen him!”
The fire in Zach’s veins ran cold. If Anthony was spotted near the warehouse, Zach had even more problems. The last time he saw Anthony, the guy had asked all the wrong questions and dug up a bunch of things he shouldn’t have known. The money he owed was only half the reason he’d been looking for Anthony the night they took Lauren.
“Wait. What do you know?” Zach asked.
“What do you mean? I wish I knewsomething. I’ve had to fight for every scrap of information on him for years. What doyouknow?”
Zach studied her, running everything he knew about Anthony and Lauren in his head. Did she really not know what she’d stumbled into, or was she in on it with her cousin? Every wall he’d lowered for her went straight back up.
“Anthony knew things he shouldn’t have. You’ve been sneaking around where you don’t belong.”
“Stop right there.” She leveled him with a heated stare. “Don’t you dare accuse me of things. The only sneaking I’ve done is searching for my cousin. I just want to find Anthony. I’m not against you.”
“Even if I’m still a criminal? Come on. You know the line between right and wrong. You’re on one side, and I’m on the other. That makes us enemies. Good versus evil.”
“It does not,” she said, firm and forceful. “We’re human. I make mistakes just like you do, and sometimes, despite what you think, you make good decisions too. Stop erasing everything good you’ve done. I’m tired of it!”
She limped the three steps between them and reached for his hand, but he pulled it back.
“Look at me,” she begged. “You matter to me. It terrifies me that you might end up back in prison or dead. It keeps me up at night more than the nightmares. But Anthony matters to me too. I can’t give up on him just like I can’t give up on you.”
Zach shook his head. She couldn’t do this. He couldn’t keep up with her, run a business, work a full-time job, and succeed at any of it. “You can’t do this,” he said.
“Then help me,” she begged. “I can’t do it on my own.”
“You shouldn’t do it at all!”
“Do you really want to get out of there? Help me, and we can find Anthony and do it all with law enforcement behind us.” She held up a hand, cuttingoff what he was about to say. “I know you said you wouldn’t become an informant, but it’s your only way out.”
Steam was probably coming out of his ears. Despite the cold outside, he was burning up. Why did she have to be right? It was the only way he might be able to leave the business. It wasn’t guaranteed to work. Even then, he’d spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder.
If he wanted any kind of a life with Lauren, which he selfishly did, she would always be at risk. She was his weakness, and anyone who knew about her could use that against him.
He rubbed his hands over his face. This was so messed up. Everything was messed up, and the fear of losing her was growing by the second. “I have to get to the warehouse and check the cameras. If I can get to the footage before anyone else, I can delete the evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“You! I can make sure you’re nowhere on the radar.”
“And check for Anthony too?” she asked.
“Oh, I’ll be checking for him too. If he’s anywhere near here, he’s in trouble. He must have a death wish.”
“So, you’ll help me?”
“I’m not helping you! I’m saving you. Please understand the difference.”
She reached for his hand again, and he didn’t have the willpower to pull away. Her delicate handwrapped around his as she cradled it to her chest. “Please. We can do this together. I trust you. No more secrets. You and me.”
We. You and me. She was using all the words he’d stupidly hoped to hear, but the circumstances were all wrong.
