Page 5 of Always You

“You could’ve backed me up there, bitch. You were ready to hire a hitman for him eleven months ago.” I frown at mysoon-to-bo-exbest friend, a little frustrated with her lack of reaction after the infamous ghost of my past came strolling into the bar and ruined my night some more.Little traitor.

She shrugs. “I still am. But let’s be honest, it’s not going to change the outcome now that he’s back. You two–”

“Don’t you dare say it!” I cut her off, not even remotely curious about what was about to roll off her tongue, and I pin her with a stern expression.

Her hands move up in the air, but I catch the parting of her lips quick enough.

“Shut up,” I bark before she can say anything.

She just chuckles beside me, bringing her drink to her mouth. “You’re so fucked, girl.”

“No, I’m not.” My tone is resolute, and I mean it.

Because Hunter and I will never cross that line.

I won’t allow it again.

Ever.

1

The heat radiating off my body only feeds the unease sitting in my stomach after seeing my mother with that pile of money on the table in front of her. My pile of money. The one that was supposed to be my ticket out of this one-horse town. My chest clenches as if it’s caught between two closing walls.

But I need it. I need to wallow in the discomfort, before I’ll even remotely be able to let it go.

I take a small path toward the streaming creek as my heart keeps pounding hard in my chest, my feet never slowing down until I register the small pebbles of the creek bank underneath my shoes. My head is dying for a breeze, to get a breath of fresh air, but with summer being barely over, it’s still seventy-five degrees out.

Still feeling the need to use my already aching muscles in anger, I pick up some rocks from the ground, throwing them into the creek with a roar, one by one.

Normally, the burbling of the flowing water calms me down, but right now, it’s only a deafening tone. The soundtrack to the desperation that pierces through my heart. I keep going, trying to find a bigger rock every time I’ve thrown one in, until finally, the fatigue hits me. Placing my palms behind my head, I shut my eyes while sucking air into my heaving lungs, listening to the natural sounds around me.

One more fucking year.

“You need some help with those bigger boulders?”

My heart just about jumps from my ribcage, and my head snaps toward the unexpected voice.

“Jesus Christ, you always sneak up on people like that?” My brows knit together in a tiny scowl.

I look at the girl sitting cross-legged against a tree, with a book on her lap. Her wavy dark blonde hair is slightly highlighted by the sun, making her blue-green eyes striking against her ivory skin.

Her.

“I’ve been sitting here for an hour,” she deadpans.

“Right,” I say while I run a hand through my sweaty hair, feeling awkward as fuck when I realize she has been witnessing my entire big boy tantrum. “Well, carry on.”

I put my focus on the creek, doing my best to pretend she’s not here, but I can’t resist glancing at her again, wondering if she’s still looking at me. When I rear my neck, disappointment trails my spine when her head is back in her book, and she doesn’t seem to give a flying fuck that I’m still standing here.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” I turn my frame her way again. My eyes can’t help but give her a once-over. Her white sneakers stand out against her tanned legs, which are covered with nothing more than some jeans shorts. Her oversized navy-blue V-neck t-shirt is tucked in at her jeans, giving no indication of her curves, but something tells me they are there.

She holds up her book with a coy smile, answering my stupid question.

“All by yourself in the middle of nowhere?” I curiously take a few steps closer.

“Not really the middle of nowhere, since you came here too.” She looks at me with a sassy grin that secretly makes me chuckle inside.

“Aren’t you scared some guys might pass by? You know, guys that don’t mind taking advantage of pretty little girls?”

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