“You need to come back. Now. Marry Dominic. It’s the only way. He’ll kill me if you don’t. He’s already said it. And he knows where you are. He will kill the men hiding you too. All of them. Haven 7. The women. The children. He has hundreds of men. They will burn that mountain to the ground to get to you.”
Tears blur my vision. I press a hand over my mouth to keep from crying out. “No. Please. I can’t.”
“You have to. He knows the location. Someone talked. It’s only a matter of hours before his people arrive. Once Dominic figures it out, nobody will be safe. Not the sheriff. Not the medic who is protecting you. Not anyone. You need to come to me. I’m hiding not far from you. I can get us out. We can run together. It’s what’s best for everyone.”
I’m crying now, silent tears running down my cheeks. “Dad, I love it here. I love him. I can’t just leave.”
“You have no choice. Get a vehicle. Meet me at the old logging road pullout two miles south of the main gate. I’ll be waiting. We leave together. We disappear. It’s the only way to keep those people alive. It’s the only way to keepusalive.”
The line goes dead.
I stand frozen in the kitchen, phone still pressed to my ear, tears dripping onto the counter. Eli’s still in the shower. The water runs steadily. I love him. I love this place. I love the women who welcomed me like a sister and the men who promised to protect me. I can’t bring Dominic’s army here. I can’t let them hurt Poppi or Aidan or anyone else because of me.
My mind races. I have to leave a note. I hesitate. Fuck. I picture Eli fresh from the shower, looking for me. Ugh. I can’t do this.
No, I have to. I picture Eli angry I’ve left. But then I picture Dominic’s men storming the gate, guns blazing, the lodge burning, the children screaming. I can’t let that happen. Not to the people who took me in when I had nowhere else to go. Not to Eli, who has given me safety and kindness and love I never thought I’d find.
I move fast before I can change my mind. I wipe my face with the back of my sleeve, pull on jeans and boots, and grab the keys Eli left on the hook by the door. The ones to the black truck in the garage. My hands shake as I stuff a small bag with a change of clothes, the little cash I still have, and the burner phone. I write a note on the back of an envelope and leave it on the counter where he’ll see it.
I’m sorry. I love you. This is the only way to keep you safe. Please do not follow me. Tell the others I’m grateful for everything. I will never forget any of you.
I slip out the door and run toward the garage, boots crunching in the snow. The big door is unlocked like always. I slide into the driver’s seat of the black truck, start the engine, and back out slowly, heart pounding so hard I feel it in my throat. I drive down the private road, past the gate that is open for morning patrols. No one stops me. No one even sees me. I head south, following the directions my father gave me, tears blurring the road the whole way.
I keep seeing Eli’s face. The way he looked at me this morning when he kissed me. The way he held me last night like I was the most precious thing in his world. I love him so much it hurts. But I can’t be the reason his family gets destroyed. I can’t let Dominic’s men come here and take away the only safe place any of them have ever known.
The old logging road pullout appears ahead through the trees. A black sedan waits in the shadows. I pull up beside it and cut the engine. My hands are shaking so badly I can barely turn the key. I climb out, legs unsteady. My father steps out of the sedan. He looks thinner than I remember, eyes darting nervously around the trees.
“Daisy. You came.”
I swallow hard. “Dad, we have to go. Right now. Before anyone notices the truck is missing.”
He nods once. Then two men step out from behind the sedan. My blood turns to ice. Dominic Garcia stands between them, dark suit crisp against the snow, smile cold and satisfied.
“Hello, Daisy,” he says smoothly. “Your father was very helpful. He led us right to you.”
My father looks away, shame written across his face. “I’m sorry. It was the only way.”
I turn to run, but strong hands grab my arms from behind. I fight, kicking and twisting, screaming Eli’s name even though I know he can’t hear me. Someone presses a cloth over my mouth. A sweet chemical smell floods my nose. My vision blurs at the edges. The last thing I see is Dominic watching me with calm satisfaction, like he’s already won.
Then everything goes dark.
I wake up in the back of a moving vehicle, hands zip-tied tightly in front of me, a gag in my mouth. My head throbs. The world tilts as the car takes a sharp turn. Panic rises fast and sharp, choking me. I’m not in Haven 7 anymore. I’m not with Eli. I tried to save them and now I’m the one who is trapped.
Tears burn my eyes again. I think of Eli coming out of his shower to an empty cabin. The note I left on the counter. The truck I stole. He’ll come for me. I know he will. The whole team will. But Dominic’s men are everywhere and the mountain is far behind us now. I close my eyes and send a silent prayer into the dark.
Please find me, Eli. Please.
I love you.
The car keeps driving, taking me farther and farther away from the only place that ever felt like home.
FOURTEEN
ELI
The water shuts off with a metallic clunk and I step out of the shower, steam curling around me like fog on the mountain. I grab a towel and dry off quickly, already thinking about the day ahead. Daisy and I have fallen into a rhythm these last few days that feels right. She’ll be in the kitchen right now, probably making coffee, maybe humming softly to herself while she waits for me. I smile at the thought as I pull on jeans and a thermal shirt. The cabin is quiet except for the faint crackle of the fire I built earlier.
I walk into the main room and stop cold. The kitchen’s empty. The coffee maker sits untouched. No mug on the counter. No sign of her at all. My stomach tightens. She’s probably in the bathroom or maybe she went back to bed, I tell myself. But the bedroom door stands open and the bed is made, the quilt pulled neat the way she always leaves it. My pulse kicks up a notch.
