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I sat there until Court came back to me, set a heavy hand on my shoulder, and told me we were leaving.

“Where are we going?”

“Canton.”

“What’s in Canton?”

“Another of Thorne’s stores.”

I nodded. I was riding a huge wave, being carried along by a force so much greater than myself. There was no chance of escaping it. The helplessness that came with that was all-consuming, and I shoved it away, pushed it down deep where it couldn’t reach out and grab me.

I followed Court outside.

It was night now.

It felt good to breathe in the warm air, to hear the crickets chirping in the tall grass by the lot, to look up and see all those stars dotting the sky.

Court ushered me around a corner to a big black SUV, the only car parked in the empty lot. Vincent was already behind the wheel, Cade in the front seat beside him.

Court’s hand slid along the small of my back as he guided me to the back door, opening it and then pushing me inside. His hands lingered on my ass for a moment too long, which only made me move faster into the way back. There was more room back here anyway.

Well, there was before Court squeezed in beside me and spread his legs out.

When he stretched his arm across the back of the leather seat, I opened my mouth to protest, but Brooks jumped into the car and slammed the door shut. “All good,” said Brooks.

Vincent hummed as he put the car in drive, and then we were moving.

I didn’t know if I was uncomfortable or overwhelmed or tired—probably a heavy mix of all three—but I started to laugh, the sound making me feel a little better and a lot crazy. Some of the tension I’d been carrying all day started to drain away, though, and I didn’t care how I was coming across.

I was alive, and that was all that mattered.

TWELVE

She fell asleep after laughing like a loon, which was probably a stress response to everything she’d just learned.

I brushed her hair back from her face, tucking it gently behind her ear. Her long lashes fanned across her cheeks, plump pink lips slightly parted as she breathed quietly. She’d fallen asleep with her head on my shoulder, and when she kept tipping further and further into me, I just pulled her down to my lap so she’d be more comfortable.

She was so beautiful. It was strange to see her this calm, all her angry lines smoothed out. She deserved peace. She deserved to be protected. To feel safe.

I didn’t know anything about her life before she came to Marion, but from the way she responded to things, it was clear it hadn’t been an easy one.

I wanted to know everything. But I couldn’t just ask her outright, she’d laugh in my face and then punch me, probably.

Or bite me.

My eyes kept returning to the bite mark she’d left on my arm. She didn’t have sharp teeth, but she was still able to do damage. A dark bruise was forming on my forearm in the shape of her teeth.

I wanted her to leave a thousand more on my skin. I wanted her marks on every inch of my body.

I chuckled, and Cade shot me a glare over his shoulder. He shook his head and faced forward again. “Fucking obsessed. You don’t even know her.”

I did know her. I knew she liked old movies, that she hated the rain, that she couldn’t stand talking to strangers. I knew that she could protect herself better than anyone I’d ever met. I knew she liked flowers. Loved them. I knew the way her eyes lit up when she saw one.

I knew she was running from something. There was a darkness in her eyes she tried to hide with snappy remarks and fierce scowls. She would push people away a thousand times over before accepting help from anyone.

But I didn’t blame Cade for not seeing the same things. He hadn’t been watching her as closely as I had.

He was a critical asshole, angry and bitter, but he had a big heart. He liked to hide it and pretend it wasn’t there, but it was. And for him to not put up a fight in allowing Whitney to come with us, that big heart had definitely softened toward her and her circumstances.