“Who?” Drew asked. “The one who sent you that note?”
“Please,” I breathed out, trying to hold back my tears. “Just leave.”
“Come on, Katherine,” Drew pleaded. “I can take care of myself. And I won’t let you push me away again.”
I contemplated the consequences of him knowing the truth. A war of conflicting thoughts thundered inside my head.
If I confessed, then he would have a target on his back, too. But what if he could help me with Adrian? What if by trusting Drew, I could finally put all of this behind me?
Maybe with someone else by my side, I’d have a fighting chance.
“Katherine?” Drew stepped forward and took my hands in his. “I’m here for you. You can trust me.”
Looking into his pleading eyes, I knew I could trust him. In fact, I did trust him. That was the problem. And I was tired of lying to him. I couldn’t do it anymore.
“I just—” I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “You have to promise me you won’t share this with anyone else. Not even Leah.”
“I promise,” Drew agreed. “Just tell me what’s going on.”
I took a deep breath and told Drew everything about the past I had tried so desperately to forget.
CHAPTER FIVE
KATHERINE
As I told Drew the truth, I couldn’t stop myself from reliving it all over again.
I remembered the chill of that night as I followed Adrian into the alley between the abandoned warehouses.
And the distinct smell of car exhaust that invaded my senses. Then the three jarring gunshots that echoed in my ears.
My hands shook as I described to him the exact moment that Adrian killed Henry.
“After that,” I explained, “Adrian threatened me. He said if I told anyone about what I saw or if I went to the police, he’d kill me, too. So, I ran. I was so scared he’d change his mind and kill me anyway.”
When I finished, Drew was silent, absorbing all the new information. It was a lot to process, so I didn’t blame him for not speaking right away. In fact, I was glad for the few seconds of silence as his brow creased and his lips pursed before he spoke.
“And that’s why you pushed me away after our kiss.”
It wasn’t a question.
I nodded. “I was scared. I still am. But I was terrified of what Adrian would have done to you if he found me. It was easier to keep my distance and not form any attachments. Easier to drop everything and run again if I had nothing keeping me here.”
I had utterly failed at that because now I didn’t want to leave.
“But then I met Leah.” I smiled sadly, remembering that first self-defense class—Drew’s class. “And I met you. And you helped me get back a little bit of the control that was taken from me. You were perfect and …” I sighed. “I didn’t want to dump my shitty baggage on you, especially if that put a target on your back. I never wanted to put that burden on you.”
None of it made a difference anyway because Adrian found me. He knew where I was, and he was coming for me—for something he thought I took from him.
He won’t stop until he gets what he wants.
No matter where I went, Adrian would always be there, haunting me—forever lurking in the shadows, preventing me from ever truly living.
He was my grim reaper.
And I prayed he’d never come back to collect the life that had slipped through his blood-soaked fingers.
I should’ve known my prayer would go unanswered.
