“Abigail,” Tank growls. “Get out of that car.”
My hand reaches for the door handle… but I stop myself.
Everything in me wants to open it. To run into his arms. Even if he rejected me again, I want to take the pain out of his voice. I want to make it stop.
But I can’t.
I can’t live my life pining after a man who doesn’t want me. I can’t let him lock me away in some forbidden tower just because he doesn’t want anyone else to want me either.
“I’m right here,” Eli whispers. “You’re not alone. You’re safe. And you’re going to be okay.”
“Fucking idiot,” Skip mutters as he shuts Eli’s door. I watch through the window as he faces Tank head-on. “You had your chance, Tank. You had many chances. Move the hell back so I can take our Princess out to meet her motherfucking Prince.”
“I’m proud of you,” Eli whispers. “You put yourself first.”
I nod, even as my chest aches.
Because the truth…the awful, unfair truth…is that I love Tank.
I probably always will.
But loving him shouldn’t mean disappearing myself.
And as the compound fades behind us, I know one thing for certain:
I didn’t leave because I stopped loving him.
I left because I finally loved myself enough to see that I deserve to be loved back.
Loudly.
Proudly.
Boldly.
And without hesitation.
Chapter One
Abby
***Three Months Later***
The bell rings as someone walks into my shop. I smile as I hear Lila greet the customer.
My dreams are finally coming true.
Bubby bought me this building as a gift after I graduated from college. Back then, I had plans…big ones. But after I was kidnapped, every thought of my business got shoved onto the back burner.
After everything that happened, I was too scared to leave Sammy’s house. When his job forced him to travel, I didn’t really have a choice. I moved to the compound with Bubby.
I was terrified of the trip here.
But dang, am I glad I did it.
Sure, Palm Springs is a heck of a lot closer to Los Fantasmas. And for a long time, I didn’t leave my house…let alone the compound walls.
But over the past two years, things have changed.
