Conniving bitch.
I place my hands on my sides. “How much time do we have?”
“I wouldn't go into the woods if I were you.” She winks before turning on her heel and walking into a connected room.
I abandon my spot as I head back to my room. No wonder there’s no trail to follow. They’re planning on fucking ambushing us. They’re a step ahead, and I need to even the playing ground again.
With the roads closed, they won’t be expecting us to leave until tomorrow, but that doesn't mean they aren't watching. We could be surrounded, and I have no fucking clue.
I storm into the room, interrupting Addison’s book. She's lying on the bed, her arm propping her chin as she reads on her Kindle. “What’s gotten into you?”
I grab my bag and pull out a pair of jeans. “I have something I need to do. Don't leave the room and don't go outside.”
She sits up quickly. “You’re leaving me?”
“Not leaving,” I say as I shuck my sweatpants off. “Just stay in the room. I’ll be back in an hour.”
She stands from the bed, worry twisting her features. “It’s pouring down outside, Rowan. Where are you going?”
As I see the fear in her eyes, it hits me hard. My chest tightens. I can’t leave her like this, not when she’s looking at me with that mix of worry and need.
I place my hands on either side of her face, burying my fingers in her hair as my thumbs stroke the apples of her cheeks. “I’m not leaving you, okay, Sunshine?”
Wide, hazel eyes pierce me as she nods and worries her bottom lip between her teeth.
“I’ll be right back,” I reassure her. “Stay in the room, please.”
Her mouth moves before a quiet ‘Okay’ slips from her.
I press my lips to her forehead, closing my eyes at the feel of her skin under mine. This is it. All I'm going to allow myself to have. After this, I’ll never touch or see her again.
I press harder against her, feeling her body go flush against mine. I don’t want to let go. I can't ignore how perfectly she fits against me.
But the harsh truth cuts through me, raw and cold: she isn't mine.
I go to pull away, but stop when her hands slide up my back. She bunches my shirt in her fists, holding tightly to me.
“Thank you,” she whispers, and my heart breaks.
Slowly, I wrap my arms around her until we’re hugging. “What was that for?” I ask against her hair, turning into her as I let her scent fill my nose.
“For everything,” she responds. “For driving, and giving me a distraction when I needed one. You're a good person.”
I’m not because all I can think of is how easy it would be to lock you away.
“Of course,” I say, the words feeling like sand as they leave my mouth. She thinks I'm a good person, and all I can see are the ways she would be proven wrong in an instant if she knew.
I want to keep it this way. For her to remember me fondly rather than for the monster I really am.
She breaks away first, that smile that makes my knees weak, gracing her features. “Go and do whatever weird shit you have to.”
I chuckle before leaving her. I don't plan to go far, but as I walk away, all I can imagine is a different life—a life where Addison Bright is mine.
And how easily that could be if she only knew what lurked below the surface.
Chapter Twelve
Addison
