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There was a shift in her expression that tugged at my heart. “I’ll meet you there, Gunner.” Her voice was nearly a whisper as she reached for the door handle, tugging it from my grip.
“And you’ll actually meet me there, right?” I kept her from closing it all the way.
Hallie didn’t smile as she nodded. “I said that I would meet you there, so I will. Just like always.”
“Okay. I’ll follow you there.”
Chapter 7
Hallie
What the hell was I thinking?
I was headed way the fuck out of town to the old, abandoned church—one that I was surprised was even still there. It had once beenourspot, meeting there when I’d sneak out of my parents’ house. And for some reason…
Itstillfelt like our spot as I pulled down the mostly grass-covered driveway.
But this time, instead of excitement filling my chest as it always had before, I felt nothing but apprehension. I wasn’t meeting the Gunner that I knew when I was seventeen. I was meeting the Gunner that was a convictedmurderer.
Ugh.
I parked the SUV right out front, noting the old concrete steps outside of the faded white building were still there, though they seemed to have more cracks than they had ten years ago. The grass was severely overgrown as I pushed open the door, wondering why no one ever bothered to keep the place cleaned up. But then again, I wasn’t sure if anyone really knew that it existed.
My breaths quickened as I tried to calm my anxiety, staring at the white knuckles around the steering wheel. As much as I wanted to run from Gunner, there was something in me that just… wouldn’t let go.
A tap on my window startled me, and I looked up to see Gunner. I pushed the door open, the evening air refreshing. “Sorry,” I muttered as I slid out.
“I don’t have a lot of time.” He glanced down at the watch on his wrist. “I have some shit to do tonight.”
Like murder people.
“Okay.”
“Come on.” He stepped back, giving me space to shut the door. “I have a key for it now.”
I raised a brow at him as we waded through the tall grass to the steps. “How did you get the key?”
“I own this place now.” His voice was low, and he didn’t look over at me. “I bought it when I got out.”
“Why?” My heart pulled, but I ignored it as I climbed the wide, crumbling steps behind him. He stuck a key into a padlock on the heavy wooden doors.
“I don’t know.” His tone was flat. “I guess I didn’t feel like I had much to hold onto, and this was the only place that made me feel something.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat as my mind filled with the first time we’d come here, and consequently, the first time we had sex. “I get that.”
“My intentions were to clean it up and restore it, but I just… I don’t know. Something about leaving it like this always felt right.”
I took a deep breath as I stepped into the old, empty sanctuary. There wasn’t much to the place anymore, but the light still glimmered through the stained-glass windows as it had before. It was a small church, and the pews were faded and worn, but something about it tugged at every emotion I had kept locked away.
“It gets treated for pests, no more mice hanging around.” Gunner let out a chuckle, running his fingers along the back of a faded wooden pew.
“That’s a good thing,” I said softly, swallowing the memory of me always being fearful of mice in the old building. “So,” I cleared my throat, “I guess we should get to talking since you have to go. I need to get home for Iris, too.”
He nodded, slipping into one of the back pews. “Okay, so,” he let out a breath. “What do you want to know, Hal? I’ll tell you anything.”
I hesitated, my eyes dropping to the spot beside him. “Um…”
As if he had read my mind, he slid down a few feet, putting plenty of distance between the two of us. “Is that better?”
