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Experience life without Knox always in the background.
If he promised to do that and kept my wishes . . . he could ask you.
Experience life without Knox always in the background.
If he promised to do that and kept my wishes . . . he could ask you.
Guilt flooded my veins, burning and choking me as it surged through me.
Knox had waited for me.
I hadn’t waited for him . . . and now it was too late.
Knox
Present Day—Richland
HARLOW’S FINGERS MOVED down my cheek and traced over my lips when she finished telling me the story. “I’ve never hated myself more than I did in that moment. Guilt felt like a living thing inside me. Then Collin and I got married, and I met my monster for the first time that night. I quickly found out there was nothing left of Collin to love.”
I grabbed her hand in mine and turned my head to kiss her palm. “I’m taking you away from him,” I mumbled against her skin.
She sighed, like my words had just put a weight on her. “You can’t.”
“I can, and I am.”
“Knox, you don’t understand what he’ll do.”
“No, I do,” I disagreed, and my eyes fell to her right cheek, which was still slightly red from where he’d hit her earlier. “You made a decision today when you texted me. You knew he might see it, and you did it anyway. Before today, you never would’ve let me in this house because you would’ve been too scared for him to find me here, or find out about it.”
Her eyes fell away from mine, but I knew she couldn’t deny it.
?
??You made a decision when you let me make you mine. After that, you can’t expect me to ever let you go.” I tilted her head up until she was looking at me, then continued talking. “You also told me before that you wouldn’t tell me what happened between you two, unless you were ready to leave.”
“But, Knox—”
“You told me yourself that he’s changing, and if he’s getting careless enough to do what he’s done this week, then not only am I not letting you go, but there’s no way I’m leaving you with him for another day.”
Harlow’s head was shaking before I finished speaking. “After running into you that day in the coffee shop,” she said, “I would’ve done anything to have you take me away right then. I still would give and do anything to have you take me away.” Her next smile looked pained, but her eyes were distant. “Collin had me found just inside Oregon and arrested on a false charge when I tried to run from him. That’s why I’m trying to tell you that you can’t take me. He will find me, and he will bring me back. But that’s the least of my worries. I told you; he threatens my family. He had someone set fire to a house they were in the night I tried to leave. He went after Hadley with his gun one night when she was here, but I got her out before she noticed, and he killed my dog because I did get her out.”
My eyes were wide with shock and disgust, but before I could comment on everything, it hit me. “Where does he keep his gun?”
“You think I haven’t tried to find it? I’m here all day, almost every day. I clean the house from top to bottom. I look for hidden places, too; I have yet to find anything.” She rolled her eyes as she said, “I mean, Collin thought I was trying to poison him with salt today. I don’t think he’d leave a gun somewhere where I could find it.”
“That is not funny,” I said with a growl.
Her face softened. “I’m sorry.”
Seconds passed before I once again vowed, “I’m getting you away from him. Today, Harlow. We’ll call your family; we’ll figure something out. I’ll keep you safe, I’ll figure out a way to keep them all safe.” I didn’t try to hide the urgency in my tone. She needed to know how serious I was; she needed to know that I meant right now, not sometime in the future. “Go and pack whatever you need; whatever you don’t get I’ll take care of—”
Her hands went back to cradle my face, and her thumbs brushed across my lips in a way to stop me from talking—and somehow it worked. I knew she wasn’t going to agree. I knew, and it was frustrating me as much as it was making me panic. “I love you,” she said simply.
“Harlow . . .”
“I’ve always loved you, Knox, and I will always love you; but I can’t lea—”
“Yes, you can!”
