Page 81 of Saving The Shortstop

The last thing I want to do right now is cry in front of him, and yet here I am, crying so hard that my entire body shakes. My teeth chatter together as I walk to my dresser, him still right behind me, keeping the gun against my shirt.

I throw random things into the suitcase mindlessly. I don’t even know if it’s stuff I actually wear or need because my vision is blurred as my mind swirls. I feel like I’m on a spinning ride that’s turning out of control, and there’s no way off it.

“Good, Haven,” he murmurs against my ear before suddenly, he drags his nose down my jaw and kisses my neck.

Everything inside me is saying to scream, but there’s no one home. The same thought keeps running through my head. And that’s how much it will hurt Dallas if I die today.

I don’t want to be another thing Dallas Rivers has to survive. And if I never agreed to tutor him … if I’d never let him get close enough to love me, it wouldn’t have affected him nearly as much as it will now.

When one hand snakes around, fingertips digging into my waist, I want to throw up. I never imagined that Tabor would be this type of monster, but until today, I didn’t think he’d hold me at gunpoint either. I hate that I have to do what I do next, but I fear what will happen if I don’t.

“Hey,” I say, gently nudging my shoulder upward to push him back. “We’ll have plenty of time for that later, but I should probably finish packing before someone gets home.” The words don’t come out nearly as strong as I wish they would, and when I crane my neck to see if he bought it, for a second, I think I’m screwed.

His eyes roam my face, looking for a sign I’m lying, no doubt. Finally, his lips turn up at the corner slightly, and his smile itself makes me cringe.

“One kiss then?” he murmurs, dipping his face closer to mine, and my teeth chatter so loudly that I have to force my mouth to stay shut before I nod.

Closing my eyes—because there’s no way I can kiss him let alone watch him during it—he brings his mouth to mine. He tries to intensify it, but I keep my mouth firmly closed, though I press my lips to his to sell it as well as I can before I pull back slightly. Swallowing back my own vomit, I do my best to smile at him, though I’m not sure how well I sell it.

“I’ll finish packing so we can go,” I say, my voice squeaky.

He moves the gun from my back, though he still crowds me, as if he thinks I’ll run. Which is smart, because if I had the chance to, I would.

I have one of the fastest times from home plate to first base in college softball. Once I get my opportunity to bolt, I’m going to take it. Unfortunately, right now isn’t it.

“Okay, baby,” he mutters, kissing my cheek. “Finish packing so we can get out of here.” Shocking me, he steps back and takes a seat on the bed, though he keeps the gun right beside him. “You’re going to love the place I found for us to go. No one will bother us. We can finally be happy—just the two of us.”

I turn back toward the dresser, grabbing a few more items and inhaling a quiet, deep breath to try to calm myself down.

“That sounds great,” I whisper, though my voice cracks, so I know I need to get my act together and add onto it. “I can’t wait.”

While he talks about this place we’ll be going all alone, and how good it’ll be for us, I let my mind take me away, just for a moment, to this morning when I was safe in Dallas’s arms. It seemed like it was going to be such a great day even though I didn’t want him to have to get out of bed because we were so comfy.

When my eyes open, and I look down at the suitcase, I’m reminded of how this day changed so quickly. It went from being an ordinary one to now … the worst day of my life.

THIRTY-FIVE

DALLAS

It’s the end of practice, but I stay behind to make sure everything is picked up, just like I always do. Coach had to take off the second practice ended because he had some meeting to get to on the other side of town.

By the time I make it into the locker room, it’s a ghost town. No one showers quicker than a bunch of dudes who just had a three-hour practice and are ready to get the fuck out of here.

Within ten minutes, I’m showered, changed into clothes for my dinner date with Haven, and heading out of the eerily quiet facility.

When my phone vibrates in my pocket, I pull it out, expecting it to be Haven checking that I’m not running behind, but instead, it’s a random number that I don’t recognize.

My finger almost touches the Decline button displayed on the screen, but for whatever reason, I find myself answering it instead. Normally, I’d send it to voicemail, seeing as it’s likely a scam call anyway. Something in my gut, though, tells me not to.

“Hello?” I answer, expecting the line to be silent or for some automated message to begin.

“Dallas?” a female voice whispers. It’s vaguely familiar, but I can’t put a name to it.

“Yes?”

“This is Gigi,” rushes from her quickly, and even though she’s still whispering, I know right away that she’s upset, causing my heart to drop. “I’m in the house. I just got back from a run and—” Her voice breaks. “Tabor is upstairs with Haven. I think … I think he’s making her pack her bag. I overheard him saying something about a bag.”

I’m running now, pushing my legs and body to get me the fuck out of here and to The Nest. He’s not harmless, I know that much.