Page 17

I thought I was so damn careful; I thought I was hidden but apparently not well enough. And if he can find me…

Fuck.

My thoughts drift to how much money I’ve got stashed away in this house if I wanted to run and how far it could get me before I’d run out. At the very least, it could get me through until I made a new plan for myself.

He slows down as he gets closer to the house and I take my time to take him in as a memory from the last time I saw him flicks through my mind. I smile as my heart aches. God, we were so happy then. A more recent memory, a darker one, follows right behind it and it spurs me into action.

Shutting the water off, I turn and grab the shotgun from the table before turning back to the window. He is still inching closer to the front door so I turn toward the back door and cock the gun. The back door will deposit me on the side of the house so hopefully, I can get the jump on him and make him leave before his presence destroys everything I’ve built over the last six years.

With renewed determination, I creep out of the back door, careful not to let the screen slam before slinking along the side of the house. Sweat forms on my brow and my heart thunders in my chest as I inch along. Each breath I take rings in my ears and my belly does a little flip as I stop at the edge of the house. When I peek around the corner, I let out a breath. He’s turned away from me and it gives me the perfect opportunity to step out from behind the house and fire a shot off into the trees above him. He spins around and we both freeze as our eyes meet.

It’s like I’m eleven years old all over again. One look from him and my heart and body know exactly who they belong to, who they’ve always belonged to. He is and always will be my own personal siren call. He owns me just as much today as he did sixteen years ago. Only he’s not a boy anymore. No, he’s all man - tall, dark, and covered in tattoos but still just as sexy as he was the last time I saw him. As my gaze travels down his arm, I notice my name inked on his skin and I suck in a breath.

“Kady,” he breathes like he’s just found salvation and he takes a step toward me. I cock the gun again before leveling it at him even though it pains me. I have to end this, shut it down, and block out anything I might feel for him. I can’t afford to feel anything for him.

“Don’t come any closer.”

He holds his hands up in surrender. “Kady, baby, it’s me.”

“Don’t you “Kady, baby” me, Noah LeBlanc. I know who you are.”

His brows furrow, confusion written all over his face. “Then why the hell are you pointing a damn gun at me?”

“You need to leave,” I tell him, proud of how sure my voice sounds when on the inside all I want to do is run into his arms. God, if I closed my eyes right now, it would be so easy to remember how good it used to feel to be in his arms, how safe I felt surrounded by his scent.

I was so stupid.

I gesture toward the driveway with the gun before turning it back on him. “Go.”

“There’s not a chance in hell I’m doing that.”

“Don’t test me, Noah. I swear to God, I will shoot you.” Tears burn my eyes and I grit my teeth as I blink them away. I don’t want to but I will. He scowls, studying me as he takes another step toward me.

“What the hell is going on here? Where have you been for the last seven years?”

I shake my head. “Just let it go. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“The fuck it doesn’t,” he growls, taking another step. Shit, I know that look, the determination in his eyes. This isn’t something he’s willing to let go. And when Noah wants something, he’s a one man wrecking crew. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, will get in his way.

“Leave.”

He shakes his head. “Tell me what happened to you. Why haven’t I seen you since the day I got locked up?”

“Because I didn’t want to see you, Noah. We were a mistake.”

He reels back like I physically slapped him as his eyes widen. “What?”

“What did you expect?” I hiss, ignoring the growing ache in my chest. “That I’d just put my entire life on hold for you? That I’d sit back and be the good little wife while you did whatever the hell you wanted? I don’t think so.”

“I don’t believe you,” he growls, taking a couple steps toward me and my heart jumps into my throat.

Shit.

I need to do something to stop him.

“Noah!”

I point the gun at his feet, giving him one more chance to leave and when he takes another step, I fire into the dirt right in front of him. He jumps back, holding his hands up as he looks up at me with confusion in his eyes. An image from the night he proposed to me pops into my mind and it feels like my entire soul is weeping but on the outside, my expression remains stony.