If you’re reading this, it means I’m sleeping now. With any luck, it’s Zeke who’s awake.
I’m so sorry for leaving you, Sunshine. You must be so confused and have a lot of questions that those assholes Zeke calls friends won’t answer. I know my Sunshine will get curious. I want you to know that I’m okay with it. With you and Zeke.
But don’t try to win him over by being nice. He won’t buy it, and that isn’t you—
I pause reading and look up from the letter as if I’m going to find Seth standing in front of me so I can argue that I’m a fucking delight. Instead, I’m standing alone in the den with only the sound of Khalil hammering away behind the closed bedroomdoor. My heart seems to match the rhythm of the hammer, and this note is the nail piercing it.
Exhaling shakily, I go back to reading.
Tatum’s got him all twisted up and no amount of tugging will unravel that knot.
All he needs is you. Give him hell, baby.
I’ll miss you.
—Seth
P.S. Oh, and if you’re ever in trouble, just say CHRYSALIS to make it stop.
My breath is caught in my chest by the time I finish reading the note.
What the hell, Seth?
I fold the note and tuck it back safely inside the box where I found it before slipping on my sneakers. After, I rush through the front door, five minutes late and half expecting to find Zeke gone.
Instead, I find him in the middle of a side lunge and waiting for me. His gaze is impatient when he looks over at me while continuing to stretch, and then something shifts in his gaze when he notices a moment later that I’m wearing Seth’s clothes.
Hisclothes.
“Sorry. Laundry day.” I tug at the hem of the T-shirt self-consciously. Seth loved when I wore his clothes. He practically preened when he caught me in one of his shirts.
But Zeke isn’t Seth. I should have asked.
“It’s fine,” he answers curtly and then avoids my gaze. “You should probably stretch before we hit it.”
“Umm…” My mind recalls the many ways Khalil and Thorin took turns twisting, bending, and folding me to their will. My abused muscles are still twinging from it. “I think I’m good.”
“Let’s go.” Zeke takes off before I can ask him where we’re running to. I’m left with no choice but to follow, staying a few steps behind him. He keeps the pace easy for the first mile, but the moment I find the courage to move up and run beside him, he starts running faster like he’s trying to get away from me. I match his pace, and this cat-and-mouse game goes on for another mile until it feels as if I’m being dragged along by my stubborn pride rather than keeping up.
“He-ey,” I croak out. “Can we…can we…take a…break?”
Zeke ignores me and keeps running. My vision becomes spotty while my head swims. There’s a stitch in my side that shortens the length of my strides. I could just stop and let him run off, but I don’t want a repeat of three weeks ago if I get lost. I know Thorin and Khalil still don’t fully trust me and it’s that shred of doubt that feeds Zeke’s.
Until my men trust me completely, Zeke won’t be able to trust me at all. Of course, they don’t see it, and I’m too much of a coward to confront them about it.
I guess…I guess I don’t fully trust them either.
When the death squad came for me, Thorin’s solution was to pack us up and run again, but I can’t live like that. Our cabin and these wilds feel like home. A life on the run is just another prison.
Something has to be done. About Isaac and my uncle.
But first, the four of us need to be on the same page. We need to be a team.
We need Zeke.
Spotting a rock small enough to fit inside my palm, I slow down just enough to swipe it from the ground and then I throw it at Zeke’s retreating back before he’s out of range. “Hey!” I yell as soon as it hits his right shoulder blade. “Asshole, I’m talking to you!”
He stops and turns to face me, his green eyes wide with shock. “Did you just throw a rock at me?”
