It doesn’t erase the truth though. She still deserves a man who isn’t always one step ahead of being caged, even if it was her own doing. She needs a man who can stay.
I can’t. I don’t even know if I can stay alive at this point.
Even if I get away by some miracle tonight—even if I vanish like I managed to do from prison—it’ll never stop. There will always be another knock. Another set of lights. Another night like this.
I move again, slowing as defeat hangs heavy on my shoulders.
I crouch behind a fallen log, peering through the brush. I can hear voices now, barking orders back and forth, the sound of people who are ready to put me down with as many rounds as it takes.
I wipe sweat from my eyes with the back of my hand and feel something warm and sticky. I peer down at the blood, unsure of where it’s even coming from.
Whatever.
My gaze shifts once more toward the trees behind me, and then toward the water.
A memory surfaces—Rue as a kid, standing barefoot at the edge of the dock, daring me to jump in first, her sweet laughter filling the summer air.
“If there was a different life,” I murmur under my breath, “I would’ve stayed.”
But this is the only one I get.
I edge closer to the dock, using the shadows and timing my movements with the sound of the water. Every step feels like a fucking countdown.
Behind me, a radio crackles sharply.“We’ve got eyes! Suspect moving toward the water.”
My muscles tense. The fight is over. The good guys win.
I reach the edge of the trees, the dock stretching out before me, exposed and inevitable. The water below is black and cold, and for a brief, insane moment, I consider jumping. I could let this story end in the same way it began.
I straighten my shoulders, step onto the dock.
And the night explodes with light.
23
RUE
The dock appearsthrough the trees, an eerie stream of spotlights illuminating it. My SUV crunches over gravel, tires skidding slightly as I jam the brake, put it in park, and then jump out. The wind rips through me, pulling at my hair, and the sound of the helicopter overhead sends a shudder through my entire body.
It’s over.There’s no happy ending. There’s no escape. Whatever fairy tale runaway story I had imagined is gone.
The Marshals’ lights flash along the water, cutting the darkness into jagged stripes. Guns raised, dogs barking, and radios crackling, they sprint toward the dock. I freeze, my chest constricted so tightly, I feel as though I can’t breathe.
Noah… please don’t let them kill you.
I bite my lip, trying to stay calm as I recognize the man in the lights. His hands aren’t raised in surrender. His back is to the whole fucking army of law enforcement. The Marshals are converging on him. My eyes blur with tears, but I can’t look away.
A shout pierces the night. “Freeze! Hands where we can see them!”
I flinch. The dog snaps a growl, and I think I hear the splashing of boots hitting the wet dock boards.
Noah, raise your hands. Don’t do this,I plead in my head.
I take a step forward, as he turns around to face them. Some sort of brief sense of relief hits me, but then the panic doubles as his hands stay at his sides.
He’s outnumbered. He’s cornered. He’s giving it up.
Noah, please.
