“I want to heal because I want a family too. And I want a chance with you. If you think you could see me that way after everything I’ve put you through. I know it hasn’t been easy—or fair.”
The smile that spreads over my face is so beyond wide that it hurts—but I don’t care. “Dylan, you’re the only man I’ve ever loved. I would wait forever for you.”
He smiles, relief evident in the softening of his expression. “Let’s hope it doesn’t take that long.”
Glass shatters, ripping me from sleep.
Still exhausted, I shoot up out of bed and stare toward the door. Silence. Did I imagine it?
A man lets out a broken cry, and more glass crashes to the ground. I jump out of bed. Dylan! Adrenaline surges through my system, making my limbs shake as I rush toward the door.
As I’m reaching for the top lock, though, his warning comes back to me. Just as the promise I made to him two days ago does.
“At night, you lock both of these, okay? And you don’t come out—no matter what you hear.”
Delta barks.
I promised him I would stay in here. But what if he’s hurt? What if he needs me?
Another bark.
I throw my promises to the side. I will not sit here and wait for him to self-destruct or get hurt because I’m afraid. So, with trembling fingers and another hit of adrenaline surging through my system, I unlock the door and step out into the dark hallway. Slowly, I make my way down the hall and toward the living room.
The moment I step inside, I see the source of the broken glass is the vase he’d had on his end table. It’s shattered on the floor, flowers trampled. The table it had been sitting on is tipped on its side.
A new fear ices through me. Did Heath come? Did he take Dylan?
I slip into the kitchen and retrieve a knife from the block on Dylan’s countertop. Pain shoots up through my foot, and I hiss through clenched teeth as I raise it and pluck a chunk of glass out of my heel. Come on.
The glass is all over the kitchen, so I backtrack out, a trail of blood following me as I make my way around the counter and toward the open back door. I can bandage my foot once I know that Dylan’s okay.
It can wait. He can’t.
As soon as I reach the door, the fear that Heath found us vanishes. There’s no one else in sight—just Dylan. Kneeling right at the edge of his pool. Both hands are planted on the concrete ledge, and Delta whimpers beside him, nuzzling him with his snout.
“Dylan?” I call out.
He doesn’t answer, so I limp down the porch steps and cross the ground toward him, going slow so I don’t startle him.
“Dylan? Are you okay?”
Still, he doesn’t answer. Moonlight shines down on top of his bare back, and as I get closer, I get a horrific view of what looks like whipping scars across his back. Jagged and raised, they cover every inch of his skin.
How did I not see those before? When we were in the ocean?
I’d seen the ones on his chest, but these— How much more did he suffer?
How much pain did he have to live through before they rescued him?
What wounds did they inflict that cannot be seen?
Tears stream down my cheeks as I reach Dylan. “Dylan?” I whisper, but he still doesn’t say anything. When he doesn’t even look at me, I reach forward and gently touch his arm.
He explodes like a bomb, his entire body erupting as he lunges to his feet. I jump away, trying to get out of the way, but lose my footing and fall backward—knife still in my hand.
“Help!” I scream right before I hit the water.
It surrounds me, closing in around me like a vise. I panic, heart racing as I kick my feet and thrash in the water. Water fills my lungs when I try to scream. My chest burns. Something hits the water, and strong arms come around me.
