Her heart slammed as he zip-tied her hands in front of her, so tight that the hard plastic cut in.
As he got in the driver’s seat, her chest heaved, panic clawing up her throat. She dragged in air through her nose, but it hitched, clogged from crying. She fought for breath, fought to keep from completely unraveling as the vehicle lurched into motion.
Her world narrowed to the crunch of tires on the road and the final rays of the sun sinking in her side mirror.
Not once since this all began—the break-ins, the uncertainty that came with moving to the next town—had she thought she couldn’t handle what came next. Because losing Matt was the worst thing she could think of, and that already happened.
Now…she had too much to live for.
Church.
Her new friends on the Black Heart Ranch, people who were quickly becoming her family. Willow, Rhae and Navy, Gabe and Truman and his dog Ranger. So many more.
And the future she’d only just started to let herself believe could be possible again…a life with Church, and a family in their future.
She wasn’t a woman who had nothing left to lose.
And she wasn’t going to die here.
Chapter Sixteen
Church paced in front of Miss Collins’s trailer, waiting for the woman to finish her fourth wardrobe change in an hour.
The first time, she claimed her jewelry was making her itch because it must have nickel in it. Then her boots were giving her a blister even though she’d only had them on for a short time and walked all of ten steps.
The list went on and now Church didn’t know why the hell the woman was in wardrobe anymore. All he knew was that Zee wasn’t back.
He stood in the shadow of the trailer, gazing through the bright lights of the set into the blackness, waiting for headlights to come up the road.
She must really be falling apart if she was taking so long.
God, he wanted to be there to offer her comfort and to hold her while she cried.
What if she got a flat tire? Dammit, he should have checked the tires before she left.
He texted her twice and when she didn’t respond, he pictured her sitting in the dark field, cradling Matt’s ashes, unable to go through with her plan. Or crying her eyes out because she had and regretted it.
He pulled out his phone and checked in with her again. Just then, the trailer door opened and the assistant popped her head out. “She’s ready.”
Though he wasn’t in the mood for guarding the actor as she took the dozen steps to the next set, he’d agreed to do the job and he would.
As he led Miss Collins across the grounds, he swung his head left and right, keeping an eye out for danger. They hadn’t filmed at night before, and it was possible people could sneak onto the site more easily. That was the only thing keeping him from grabbing the keys to the grip’s truck and going after Zee.
His fingers twitched toward his phone in his pocket. He could call one of the guys on the Black Heart. Theo or Gabe or Crew would go check on her if he asked.
Where is she?he asked Matt and got only silence, as always.
But in the back of his mind came a whisper of unease. Zee bounced around from place to place. Maybe she wasn’t just running from danger. Maybe she really just couldn’t settle.
No. She was excited to get to work in the facility. She didn’t seem to mind coming to the set with him or masquerading as his wife.
Besides, she loved it here—the views, the countryside, the people around her. She loved it enough to put down roots and scatter Matt’s ashes here.
It was possible she couldn’t go through with it—not because she didn’t want to, but because of guilt. Maybe she wasn’t ready to move on, and he’d been pushing without realizing it.
She was used to carrying everything alone, locking it down where no one could touch it. Would she decide walking away was easier than letting him in?
He dragged a hand down his face, paced once, pivoted and paced the other way, boots grinding on gravel. “Where are you, honey?”
