“Just keep your ear to the ground. If the guy who shot up the trailer is still here, I want to know about it.”
“On it.”
“I’ll do the same,” Garrison says. “And I’ll check in with my contacts to see if they know anything about anyone hired to do a job in this area.”
I offer them both nods, and they leave. Soon, it’s just Tessa, Weston, and me.
“You really should let this go, Zane,” Tessa says. “This guy tried to kill me—and you alongside me. They’re clearly dangerous. Killers.”
Weston laughs, then leans forward. “Depending on who you ask, so are we.”
Chapter 12
Tessa
Killers.
I look from Weston to Zane, searching for any hint of amusement in either of their gazes. Since I never bothered to check in on Zane, no matter how badly I wanted to, I have no idea what he’s done with his life since the day I walked away.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demand, my gaze shifting between Weston and Zane. Fear momentarily creeps into my mind, but I shove it aside. Weston always had a bit of trouble in his veins, but Zane was as upstanding as they come.
The guy literally spent most of his free afternoons hanging out at the grocery store to help little old ladies carry their groceries to their cars—for free. So Weston must be messing with me. There’s no other explanation.
Killers? Not possible.
“You’re safe here,” Zane tells me, completely ignoring my question. His deep voice still wraps around my heart, a familiar and safe place to fall when my world is crumbling around me.
How many times did I run to him, terrified after one of my dad’s benders? It didn’t matter that everyone in town tried to warn him against me. I was the trouble that would break his heart. Yet, he never wavered. Not once. Zane Knox was the only constant in my life.
If only we’d have known back then that everyone had been right.
That I can do nothing but destroy.
Would I have had the strength to walk away, even if I’d have known how it was going to end up? The selfish side of me wouldn’t trade the time we did have together for anything. Even the pain I know I caused.
I don’t think I’m safe anywhere. And the closer you are to me, the greater the collateral damage will be.
“I really think this is a mistake. I can take all of this to the local police in Savannah and let them sort it out.” The sudden urge to get away from this place—from him—is so strong it nearly chokes the life right out of me.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Zane says, then reaches into his pocket and withdraws his phone. “I have to take this.” He steps out of the cabin and onto the deck, closing the door behind him. It shuts hard, and I flinch. I hate that I do, but that little abused girl inside of me is still very, very aware of everyone and everything around her.
And he’d been aggravated when he’d closed the door. Who called?
Weston remains where he is, his focus on me.
We always got along before, but I knew that, if things went sideways and it was because of me, he’d back Zane one hundred percent. They’ve been best friends their entire lives, and it seems that, just like so much in this town, that hasn’t changed.
“You know him well enough to know that he’s not going to let this go. He’s too good to let you walk away, knowing you’re in danger, even after you abandoned him. You never should have come back.”
“I know.” The two words are barely above a whisper. “I didn’t come here for his help.”
He snorts. “No, you’ve never been interested in anyone’s help, have you? Not when your dad was beating you and we all begged you to tell someone who could do something about it, and not when you decided to walk away from Zane and everyone in this town without so much as a note.” He takes a step closer, his large frame dwarfing the small space. “He thought you were dead. If you knew what he did after you left—” he trails off, shaking his head. “When you leave this time, Tessa, do him a favor, and don’t come back.”
He turns and leaves, closing the door hard behind him.
The tears begin to fall, so I slide out of the seat and limp toward the door leading down to his bedroom. Once inside, I flip the lock and let the pain hit me with the full force of a tidal wave.
“You keep throwing yourself in these situations, and one of these days, you’re not going to walk away.”
