Forever.
But at the end of the day, I can’t afford to be weak. And the last thing I need is for someone to see that weakness and exploit it.
I’ve just been biding my time until I could make that happen without putting her in danger.
My jaw clenches again, and I pull out my phone to text someone from my medical team. I can’t stand looking at her like this for a second longer, and in addition to that, I need someone to come deal with the dead body.
I drop to my knees in front of her and search her pockets for her phone.
She tries to twist away from me, but I grip her face again, forcing her to look me in the eye. “Stop.”
I falter for a brief second. I knew what it would be like if she ever found out why it was that I kept her at a distance, and judging by the way she looks at me now I was right.
She thinks she hates me—and maybe she does. But hate is just passion wearing a different mask. All I need is time to show her that no one else will ever know her, crave her, or protect her the way I do. Even if it takes breaking her world apart to fit her into mine.
She relents, far quicker than I expect, and I find what I’m looking for, standing before using her face to open the device. Then, I do the only next step I can think of.
“What the fuck do you want?” she asks, the sound of her voice surprising me and snapping me out of concentration on the mile-long text I was just typing out on her phone to tell her family and Quinn that I’m surprising her with a short trip.
Service is sketchy where we’re going, but she will do her best to keep them updated that she’s safe.
I don’t know if they’ll buy it because it’s been months since we’ve been together, and I don’t know if her family knew about me at all, but it’s the best thing I can think of.
I stop my pacing and stand in front of her again, looking down at her. “Not you, kitten. But it looks like we may be stuck together for a while regardless.”
* * *
It’sthe middle of the night when I decide I can’t have her here any longer.
She’s asleep, curled up in the corner of my bed like a wounded animal trying to make itself invisible. The bruises on her face have darkened, and every time I look at her, it feels like a vice tightening around my center.
She doesn’t belong here.
She doesn’t deserve this.
This is exactly what I was trying to protect her from, why I never let her get too close—even though I wanted her more than my next breath.
My decision to keep her in my room wasn’t born out of kindness, even though I’m softer for her than anyone else I’ve ever known. It was a strategy—a way to ensure no one else could get to her.
But it’s also a liability.
If they find out how much she means to me, she’ll be as good as dead.
This was never supposed to happen. I’ve kept my distance for a reason, always watching but never letting myself have her fully. Yet here she is, thrown into my life in the worst possible way.
I move quietly, grabbing a bag I’d stashed under the bed earlier. It’s already packed with essentials: food, a burner phone, cash.
This situation forces my hand, but maybe that’s for the better. My plans were already in motion; this just accelerated the timeline.
I crouch beside her, my hand hovering near her shoulder. “Kruz,” I whisper.
She stirs, her brow furrowing as her eyes flutter open. The moment she registers it’s me, her body stiffens, and she scrambles to sit up.
“What now?” she snaps, her voice a mix of anger and exhaustion.
“We’re leaving,” I say, my tone low but firm.
“Leaving?” She laughs bitterly. “What, you’ve decided to kidnap me all over again?”
