“Do him a favor, and don’t come back.”
Words from those closest to Zane haunt me in this small room.
It never occurred to me that I’d gotten myself into whatever this is. I’ve tried to keep my head down, done what I could to not make waves anywhere I went. Of course, things went sideways a few times, but I made sure it couldn’t follow me.
Yet, it’s starting to feel like I brought the biggest danger right here to the doorstep of the one man I never wanted to hurt. This isn’t some drunk slob with angry fists; instead, it’s someone who isn’t afraid to use bullets to silence me. The why doesn’t matter when Zane’s in the line of fire, and I could save him simply by removing myself from the equation.
“Tessa?” Zane calls through the door.
“I’m tired,” I say. “Just lying down.”
“Okay. I’ll let you rest.” Footsteps carry him away from the door, so I bury my face into his pillow and scream.
As soon as the cabin has fallen silent, I carry my shoes in one hand and gently slide the door open. Zane is sound asleep on the fold-out bed he made by lowering the table. One muscled arm is draped over his eyes, and his bare chest is on full display, thanks to the blanket pulled down to his waist.
My mouth dries, and I drink him in through the dim light cast through the thin window shades due to the marina lamppost beside his docked boat. The tattoos on his arms climb up over his chest, but it’s not even the dark swirls of ink that have my attention.
It’s the giant scar running from his left pec and disappearing down beneath the blanket.
A thick, jagged scar that doesn’t look like the owner should have survived whatever happened to him.
“Someone tried to rearrange my organs.”
His deep voice through the otherwise silent cabin has me jumping a step back. “Sorry, I—” I lose the ability to speak as Zane sits up and the blanket falls completely away, revealing a toned abdomen. The scar stops just above the waist of his pajama pants.
I can’t breathe.
Can’t tear my gaze from him.
“Going somewhere?” His gaze flicks to the shoes in my hand.
“Yes. I—” I shake my head to clear it.
“You were going to run again.”
I hold up a piece of paper in my hand. “I was going to leave a note this time.”
His nostrils flare. “You think that makes it better?”
I start toward the door. Outside, lightning splits the sky, filling the cabin of the boat with a bright flash of light. “Yes. Because now you know why I left, and you can finally let go. Something you can’t do if you’re dead.” Tears sting the corners of my eyes as I pull the door open.
Another storm has rolled in, and more lightning flashes. The boat rocks harder now.
“Tessa, you can’t leave like this again,” Zane insists, following me out onto the deck.
“If I don’t, then something could happen to you. I’m good at disappearing. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. They won’t find me.”
“Except this time, it isn’t just changing your name. They found you here. In the town you grew up in. It won’t be as simple to vanish this time. They’re hunting you.”
“Simple?” I whirl on him right as the storm dumps rain down on top of us. It soaks me near-instantly, and the whipping wind chills me to the core. “Nothing I’ve done in the last eighteen years has been simple! But I refuse to drag you down with me. If I do, then—” I trail off. “What was the point of me leaving in the first place?”
Lightning splits the sky seconds before deafening thunder shakes the world around us.
Zane takes a step closer and points to his bare chest. “Does what I want matter? Has it ever mattered?”
“Of course it has. But you’re too good to know what’s best for you.” My tears mix with the rain. This is why I disappeared without a word last time: Because the longer I stand here with him, the more desperate I am just to fall into his strong arms.
“Stop saying that,” he growls, taking another step closer. Rain drips from his short beard down onto his chest. It slides over the ink and scars on his chest.
