She hadn’t planned to tell him—that much was crystal clear by the look in her eyes. Shocked. Raw. Stripped. He’d thought they were building something real. That kiss had felt like truth, like promises neither of them dared speak out loud.
He’d let himself fall.Hard.Convinced himself he was seeing her heart when all he’d been seeing was whatever facade she needed to keep him as her personal bodyguard. Another layer of deception in an endless stack of secrets.
His instincts had screamed warnings from day one, and he’d ignored every single red flag because—what? Because she was beautiful? Because she kissed like she meant it?
“Liam, wait!” Her voice sliced through the night air.
He didn’t stop. Shoulders rigid, fists clenched so tight his pulse thrummed through them. How could he have been so blind? A girl didn’t have the mob after her because she was innocent of something…He’d thought she was a victim.
No. She’d dragged him into this mess of hers without a care about what might happen to him.
Just like Christiana. What if he’d been climbing below her? She would have taken him out in her fall. In her recklessness?—
“Liam!”
Wow, he was stupid. He kept walking.
“Hey, look!”
A boy’s voice—high, excited—yanked Liam from his spiral. He spun toward the cluster of teenagers scrambling to their feet, pointing into the canyon’s belly. The bright colors were now muted gray.
His gaze followed theirs, scanning the shadows below. The canyon floor stretched wide, patchwork of boulders and sparse vegetation.
Liam’s eyes found them then. Three figures moving quickly along a trail, maybe half a mile away. They pushed like something was chasing them, or they were chasing someone else.
His pulse spiked, breath turning shallow.
“Maybe it’s our parents!” The girl with glasses was waving, hands tucked into her sleeves for warmth. “They could’ve sent search and rescue!”
“We didn’t tell anyone where we were going.” Baseball-cap kid squinted into the distance. “Has to be someone else.”
“Get down!” Liam’s command came out harsh, urgent. His hand sliced through air as he motioned the teens behind cover. “Don’t let them see you.”
“Why?” This from Brian.
“Just do it!” Liam grabbed J.J. and shoved him down. Brian hit his knees, frowning but obeying. They sprawled behind a boulder, the rock’s bulk hiding their teenage silhouettes.
Liam crouched beside them as DeAnna flattened herself on the ground, eyes wide.
“What’s happening? Why are you freaking out?”
“Who are they?” Brian’s whisper barely stirred the air. Their lone flashlight pressed against his chest. “Why can’t we signal them? They might have food!”
The teens had no idea. No clue about the Bratva, about why he and Nimue were running through a canyon like fugitives. And he wasn’t about to enlighten them now.
The figures grew closer, at such a speed they had to be near running.
“We don’t know who it is.” His voice stayed low, controlled. “Stay down.”
“What if it’s help?” One of the girls motioned toward Brian’s flashlight. “We’re dying of thirst, and?—”
“No.” Liam’s hand shot out, clamping down on Brian’s wrist before the kid could raise their beacon. “Keep it off.”
His gaze snapped back down the trail, to the ledge where Nimue stood silhouetted against pale sky, watching the hikers.
Tension radiated from every line of her body. She looked at Liam. “I don’t think?—”
“Nim, get?—”
