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Nothing lasted forever.
But I was a coward, and I told myself this was for the best for both of us.
So with one lingering look at him, I opened the door and slipped out, each step that took me away from Wilder tearing a little piece of my heart from my chest.
The house was dark and quiet. It was empty, void of life. I placed my hand on the handle of the sliding back door and stilled, looking over my shoulder and staring down the hallway at where Wilder was sleeping. Everything in me screamed to go back to him, but reality told me to go.
And that’s what won out in the end as I pulled the door open and stepped outside, silently closing it behind me. The night air was cool with a gentle breeze moving around me. I breathed in deeply for a second. I realized this was the first time I actually stepped out of this house in over a week. I hadn’t had chains or locks keeping me in place. No, I had my heart that was the weight, the anchor. My heart and emotions had been my own personal guard.
I adjusted the strap of my purse on my shoulder and started making my way toward the front of the house. I didn’t know where I was or how far away I was from town or even a bus stop. But I was good at surviving. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t have lasted as long as I had on my own all these years.
So I just started walking. I was about to round the corner, and was going to walk down the long driveway, and then I’d worry about the damn gate when I got there. But before I could take more than a few steps, I heard the click of something to my left.
I wasn’t alone.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Zoey
I stopped and looked to my side, my pulse racing. I saw the end of a cigarette glowing brilliantly, but then I smelled it.
It was a joint. I couldn’t see who smoked it, because they were leaning against the side of the house, shrouded in shadows. But it was a man, his form big, muscular.
Although I couldn’t see his face, I could feel his eyes on me. I swallowed roughly, my throat tight. It was obviously one of the brothers. I wasn’t able to get oxygen into my lungs. I’d been caught leaving—what I’d been trying to avoid. I was afraid I’d get hurt despite everyone telling me I had nothing to fear. I had everything to fear. The world, the people who inhabited it. All of that was something to be afraid of.
I said nothing, and neither did he, and the only thing I could hear was him inhaling from the joint. The only thing I could see clearly was the brightly lit red end as he took that smoke into his lungs. He exhaled slowly, and I saw the cloud of smoke fade away from him, the dim porch light a few feet from us allowing me to see that clearly as it dissipated into the air.
“I’m surprised it took you this long to leave,” he said in a deep voice, husky and just low enough only I’d be able to hear it.
Frankie.
He was the last person I wanted to catch me, but he seemed so relaxed, as if me leaving wasn’t a threat at all.
He took another hit, and then another. I should’ve just made a run for it, or maybe just ignored him and made my way leisurely to the front. He could try to stop me, but I’d fight. I’d fight back hard.
But despite the fact that I should’ve just kept moving, told myself that, wanted to, I was stuck in place. I watched him. He watched me. And then he pushed away from the wall, and I found myself taking yet another step back, not sure what he planned on doing, if he planned on doing anything.
Maybe he’d just let me walk away? Maybe he wanted me gone so I wouldn’t cause any problems between him and his brothers? Or maybe he really did just want me dead?
I was on alert, ready to fight back if need be, but he didn’t come any closer to me, only enough that I could see him clearly under the muted glow of the porch light.
He took another puff off his joint before offering it to me, lifting a brow in almost a challenge. I shook my head and took another step back. The way he watched me had my skin tightening. He brought the joint to his lips once more, took another drag from it, held the smoke for a few seconds, and then exhaled slowly, the cloud moving over my face.
“I didn’t think anyone was here but Wilder and me.”
