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But the new day promised things too.
Even if Kieran hadn’t come back last night, Beck might be home by now. Depending on the time, he could be awake soon and notice my absence.
My face pinched, an apology on my lips when I heard the mattress shift behind me.
I twisted to see Dare now on his stomach, still asleep . . .
I couldn’t breathe.
That panic and fear from what seemed so long ago? It was nothing. Nothing compared to the horror rushing through me like gasoline.
One breath would light a match. One step and I would go up in flames.
Every nightmare I’d ever had was now just feet away. A reality. And it was on the man who had somehow captured my heart.
Five lines—four horizontal, one vertical. One circle.
Not just somewhere small on his body as I’d seen that one night so many years before, but covering the entire length of Dare’s toned back.
A steel fist gripped my heart, crushing it slowly as I stared, silently begging for the image in front of me to disappear.
Men who use the dark to their advantage.
Lines and circles.
Blood staining my carpet.
A stuttered breath that sounded like a cry wrenched from me, and I slapped a shaking hand over my mouth in an attempt to mute it. My world was spiraling into confusion and betrayals and unknowns. How? How is this happening?
Tears slipped down my cheeks as I hurried to grab the clothes Libby lent me, sneaking out of the unlocked room once dressed.
My throat ached from holding back my sobs, but I needed to get out of this house. I needed to get away from these people who were tied to the family that had caused me so much pain.
That wanted me dead.
But even as I tried to force myself to keep walking—to grab my bag and run—I found myself slowing . . . found myself stopping and slumping against a wall until I was sliding down it. I buried my head in my hands as silent sobs wracked my body.
I didn’t know how to handle what I’d just seen, but I couldn’t forget the past week. The last two years.
I needed to leave. I needed to get far from this place. I knew that. But I couldn’t cage my heart now that it’d been freed.
I couldn’t run from him because of who he was, when I’d been running to get away from myself for so long. A fact Dare had accepted without explanations.
“Then lie to me.”
I shakily stood, rubbing my hands across my face in a vain attempt to brush away the relentless tears.
“Decision made?” a feminine voice called out.
I jerked back against the wall, my hand flying to my chest to calm my racing heart. “God, Einstein.”
She searched my face for a few seconds, then nodded toward the living room before walking past me to head that way. Never once checking to make sure I was following her.
“I’m surprised it took you so long. Gotta say, I’m a little disappointed,” she said matter-of-factly, then clicked her tongue.
“I sat down within seconds—”
“Not what I meant.”
