never known it was possible to love someone like this. I couldn’t get enough of her, and I was so happy . It wasn’t a feeling I knew very well, but I knew I could get used to it. I knew I was getting used to it, and I didn’t want it to ever end.
I thought about getting up—taking a shower. But I just stared at the sunlight gleaming through the window, making the little bits of dust in the air dance. It was a perfect moment until I heard the crash come from the kitchen.
I tried not to laugh, but a small chuckle came out. Jen’s kitchen disasters were epic, and I had learned not to try to interfere or I risked pissing her off. She didn’t want to be rescued from her mistakes, and I respected that. If she needed my help, I knew she’d call for me. It was just further proof that she was trying—and God damn it, I loved her for that. That she wanted to do something like that for me, because Christ, I knew I wanted to be a better man for her.
I waited to hear anything else—I almost expected the smoke alarm to go off again, but it never did. I figured she’d probably dropped a pan or something. Maybe it wouldn’t be another true disaster to add to the list.
I rolled onto my back, putting my hands behind my head, and waited for her to come in with something that she would call breakfast. I would eat it and then make us something more palatable for lunch. It had to be close to lunchtime, anyway. I had taken the clocks out and made her take the battery out of her phone—I didn’t want her thinking about what time it was, but I also didn’t want anyone knowing where we were—taking the battery out disabled the fancy GPS device she also had in her phone. It was a win-win. I knew Krystal had bought her that phone—the one with the GPS service that didn’t require a cell phone signal. I knew her father wanted to keep tabs on her. Taking the battery out kept her from worrying about the time and kept everyone the hell away. Again, win-win.
I don’t think even a minute had passed since I had heard the crash had come from the other side of the cabin when the bedroom door swung open.
The voice that greeted me wasn’t Jen’s. “Get up.”
I recognized his voice, but still lifted my head to be sure. How in the hell had Ryan Agostino found me? I had been so careful—I had never mentioned this place to anyone. And the phones—I had disabled them before we even left D.C. No one should have known—I had covered my tracks well. And Montana was huge—he would have had to at least have had an idea of the area where I was to even have a prayer of finding me. He was either better than I gave him credit for or something else had happened. Someone else had happened. Daniel knew I had a place, but he didn’t know where. It seemed most likely that he had found out. He had been the one who had given me up.
“I said, out of bed.”
I looked up again to see a gun pointed in my direction. I raised my palms to him and slowly sat up, never taking my eyes off him. I knew he wouldn’t kill me. I knew why he was here—what he wanted. I knew he wouldn’t get what he wanted if I died. It was just like when he’d stabbed me—only then, he really did almost kill me.
I tried to keep my breaths calm. “What do you want?”
He motioned at me to get out of bed with the gun. “You know what I want. Get up.”
I nodded, swinging my legs to the side of the bed and standing up. I kept my palms to him as I spoke—I was completely nude, so I obviously didn’t have a weapon on me. But if I could get to the third drawer of the dresser that was only a few feet away…
“I need something for her head. She’s bleeding pretty badly.” My jaw dropped when I recognized the woman who was now standing behind Ryan in the doorway of the bedroom. I didn’t understand it at all—Melissa had been Jen’s best friend since their first year of college. And she was betraying Jen for Ryan ? It made no sense.
“She’ll be fine.” Ryan
I thought about getting up—taking a shower. But I just stared at the sunlight gleaming through the window, making the little bits of dust in the air dance. It was a perfect moment until I heard the crash come from the kitchen.
I tried not to laugh, but a small chuckle came out. Jen’s kitchen disasters were epic, and I had learned not to try to interfere or I risked pissing her off. She didn’t want to be rescued from her mistakes, and I respected that. If she needed my help, I knew she’d call for me. It was just further proof that she was trying—and God damn it, I loved her for that. That she wanted to do something like that for me, because Christ, I knew I wanted to be a better man for her.
I waited to hear anything else—I almost expected the smoke alarm to go off again, but it never did. I figured she’d probably dropped a pan or something. Maybe it wouldn’t be another true disaster to add to the list.
I rolled onto my back, putting my hands behind my head, and waited for her to come in with something that she would call breakfast. I would eat it and then make us something more palatable for lunch. It had to be close to lunchtime, anyway. I had taken the clocks out and made her take the battery out of her phone—I didn’t want her thinking about what time it was, but I also didn’t want anyone knowing where we were—taking the battery out disabled the fancy GPS device she also had in her phone. It was a win-win. I knew Krystal had bought her that phone—the one with the GPS service that didn’t require a cell phone signal. I knew her father wanted to keep tabs on her. Taking the battery out kept her from worrying about the time and kept everyone the hell away. Again, win-win.
I don’t think even a minute had passed since I had heard the crash had come from the other side of the cabin when the bedroom door swung open.
The voice that greeted me wasn’t Jen’s. “Get up.”
I recognized his voice, but still lifted my head to be sure. How in the hell had Ryan Agostino found me? I had been so careful—I had never mentioned this place to anyone. And the phones—I had disabled them before we even left D.C. No one should have known—I had covered my tracks well. And Montana was huge—he would have had to at least have had an idea of the area where I was to even have a prayer of finding me. He was either better than I gave him credit for or something else had happened. Someone else had happened. Daniel knew I had a place, but he didn’t know where. It seemed most likely that he had found out. He had been the one who had given me up.
“I said, out of bed.”
I looked up again to see a gun pointed in my direction. I raised my palms to him and slowly sat up, never taking my eyes off him. I knew he wouldn’t kill me. I knew why he was here—what he wanted. I knew he wouldn’t get what he wanted if I died. It was just like when he’d stabbed me—only then, he really did almost kill me.
I tried to keep my breaths calm. “What do you want?”
He motioned at me to get out of bed with the gun. “You know what I want. Get up.”
I nodded, swinging my legs to the side of the bed and standing up. I kept my palms to him as I spoke—I was completely nude, so I obviously didn’t have a weapon on me. But if I could get to the third drawer of the dresser that was only a few feet away…
“I need something for her head. She’s bleeding pretty badly.” My jaw dropped when I recognized the woman who was now standing behind Ryan in the doorway of the bedroom. I didn’t understand it at all—Melissa had been Jen’s best friend since their first year of college. And she was betraying Jen for Ryan ? It made no sense.
“She’ll be fine.” Ryan
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