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Chapter 1
Twelve years earlier
His heart racing, Ethan Davies slowed his steps as he neared Zoe’s locker. Finally stopped a couple lockers away to watch her. She was shrugging off her jacket, so she was facing away from him. Finally she got it off, hung it in her locker, then rummaged in her backpack for her books. Cradling them in one arm, she slammed the locker closed, spun the lock and finally turned around.
She spotted him immediately. A sign she was as tuned to him as he was to her. “Hey, Ethan,” she said. “See you in class later today. You ready for the test?”
He tapped his fingers, one at a time, on his thigh. One, two, three, four, five. Over and over. Shrugged. “I guess.”
Zoe grimaced. “I stayed up way too late studying for it. Hope it pays off.” Flashing him a brief smile, she passed him in the hallway and slowed when she neared another guy’s locker. She smiled at the guy, and the two of them walked down the hall together, talking and laughing.
The guy was too close to Zoe. His arm was brushing hers.
Rage boiled up inside Ethan as he watched her. Who was that guy? Why was Zoe talking to him? Laughing with him?
Laughing together was their thing. He told her stupid jokes in coding class, and she told him stupid jokes. He and Zoe laughed together. She shouldn’t be laughing at another guy’s jokes.
As he followed Zoe down the hall, the guy she was with tucked her long red hair behind her ear. Ethan clenched and unclenched his fists. Tapped furiously on his leg, one, two, three, four, five. That guy was not allowed to touch Zoe. Especially not like that.
She belonged to him. He’d be the only one who touched her.
Ethan loved her long red hair. He’d been working up the courage to touch it. To tuck it behind her ear. That guy had beaten him to it.
Ethan brooded about Zoe and the mystery guy all day. He didn’t hear a thing in any of his classes. His mind was filled with the image of that boy-who-wasn’t-Ethan touching Zoe. If that skinny dweeb kept touching her, Ethan would have to deal with him.
He’d follow that guy home and find out where he lived. Punish him for touching Zoe.
Or maybe he’d just move up his schedule for taking Zoe. Making sure she stayed with him forever.
He knew his mother kept a gun hidden in the hall closet. She’d probably left it there deliberately, in case Ethan needed it. He’d take it with him in case he needed it when he rescued Zoe. He wouldn’t shoot anyone. But he’d make sure no one interfered with him and Zoe. They were meant to be together. Always.
He bolted out of English as soon as the bell rang and hurried toward coding class. Zoe would be coming from the cafeteria, so he wouldn’t run into her on the way. He hated the fact that she had a different lunch period than him. He wanted to eat lunch with her.
He wanted to do everything with Zoe.
Soon. Soon they’d be together. And they’d never be separated again.
He looked around for the guy she’d been with but didn’t see him. That guy didn’t matter. Ethan would go to Zoe’s house tonight. Tomorrow if his mother was awake and watching television tonight. He’d wait until his mom was passed out on the couch. It wouldn’t be long. She needed her Jack more than she needed anything. Including Ethan.
Zoe would welcome him when he got to her house. She’d leave with him, and he’d take her to the place he’d prepared for her. They’d be happy together, just as they were meant to be.
As he walked into the coding classroom, he headed for the computer he normally used, right next to the one Zoe used. He slid into the seat and set his books beside Zoe’s computer. Most people used the same computer every day, but he wanted to make sure no one else sat in Zoe’s spot today.
When she walked into class, he waited for her to reach her desk before he pulled his books away. She glanced at them and gave him a half-smile. “You saved my computer for me?”
He shrugged. “Of course. You’ve got a feel for it, right? You know its quirks.”
Zoe slid into the seat beside him. “Thanks, Ethan. That was nice of you.” She pulled some papers out of a folder and studied them, frowning.
He wanted to talk to her, but she was concentrating on her papers. So he watched her out of the corner of his eye, drinking her in. Her long, dark red hair was especially curly today. Like she’d run her fingers through it too many times. That was a nervous habit of hers. He’d seen her spear her fingers through her hair while she was concentrating in coding class.
Finally the teacher stood up. “Put all your papers and notes away,” he said. His gaze skimmed over the class, focusing on each student. “I’ve put a coding project on your computers, so open them and begin the test. Good luck.”
Without looking at Ethan, Zoe opened her computer and logged in. She studied the problem, then stared into space for a couple minutes. Then she bent over the keyboard and began typing.
Her fingers flew over the keys, and her bracelet with the little dangly charms clattered as her hand moved.
Finally, reluctantly, he opened his computer and read the project. Nodded once. Easy-peasy. He loved computers and was good at coding. His boss at the Apple store had told him so more than once. He’d even suggested that Ethan get a degree in computer science and come back to work full time after he graduated from college.
