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His hand skimmed up my back, underneath my shirt. “We have to go,” he said, but he didn’t pull away.
“Collin.” No one had ever felt as right as he did.
He was right. Our connection was more remarkable than anything I’d ever experienced. I was sure I would never find it with anyone else.
But I couldn’t trust him.
I started to cry, my heart breaking all over again.
Collin pulled back, worry in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
I pushed him away from me. “I have to go.”
He slid his hands down my back and up my arms, gripping my biceps gently. “Don’t go, Ellie. I need you.” There was a wistfulness in his voice I’d never heard before.
“I need you too.” I looked into his eyes, my tears making his face blurry. “But it’s not enough.”
I expected him to get angry, but he leaned his forehead against mine. “I know,” he whispered. He wiped a tear that had fallen down my cheek and pulled me to his chest, burying his face into my neck. “I just don’t know how to live without you.”
My throat clogged with tears. I couldn’t stay here with him another moment. I pushed his shoulders again, and he released me this time, helping me down from the seat.
He grabbed my left hand, putting it on his chest, and I looked up into his face, searching for proof that I should stay. That this time I could trust him. But all I saw was hopelessness.
I gently pulled my hand from his and walked toward the back door of the restaurant.
Collin’s truck started and pulled out of the parking lot.
My heart left with him.
Chapter16
Tom showed up a couple of hours later as I still had an hour left of my shift. The look of defeat on his face told me everything I needed to know.
“You didn’t get them.”
He shook his head. “No. They got away. I’m sorry.”
I took a deep breath. Collin was right. I was in deep trouble.
Tom’s back stiffened. He was in full Manteo Police Officer mode. “I need to get a statement of everything that has happened to you up until now. And you might need to go to Buxton and Morehead City to give statements there too.”
My eyes flew open. “Why?”
“You said they tried to abduct you in Morehead City. We don’t have jurisdiction there.”
I shook my head vigorously. “No. I’m not going to press charges.” I didn’t have time to travel hours away, and undoubtedly it would get messy with everything else I was dealing with.
“Ellie,” Tom groaned in exasperation.
“I’ll tellyouwhat happened, but no one else. And I don’t want to go down to the station. I want to give you my statement at the inn.”
“That’s a lot of conditions, Ellie.”
“Do you want me to cooperate or not?”
His eyes narrowed. “If you don’t cooperate, I can have you detained overnight for obstruction of justice. Or filing a false police report.”
“I didn’t even file a police report!”
