Page 14 of Rescued By the Marine

“She was different.” I take a breath and clarify. “Zoe was different. She laughed at my fear, she didn’t care about us being together, and she was demanding about our location. There was no reason for her to know where we are.”

“She was just tired. You know how Zoe gets when she’s tired,” Kane laughs. “I think we’re all tired.”

He’s right. I’m exhausted and imagining that my best friend is the one who’s been terrorizing me. That doesn’t make sense. The person who’s been sending me the letters is a man who’s obsessed with me. Someone I either know from acting or a fan who has somehow managed to get way too close.

“Let’s go to bed and figure out what’s next in the morning.”

We climb in between the sheets and automatically move into each other’s arms. Slowly we make love. It’s not the hurried, passionate affair I imagined after necking in the car, but that feels like a lifetime ago.

Later that night, I lay on his chest listening to Kane breathe. What if I’m putting him in more danger by staying here? If I went back to my life in LA, would I be able to find out who’s doing this faster, or would I be in more danger? If something happened to Kane, I’d never be able to forgive myself.

I get out of bed, pull on Kane’s T-shirt, and slink to the other side of the tiny cabin. I call Zoe, hoping that I’m not waking her up again.

“Hey.”

“I’m not waking you up again, am I?”

“No, I couldn’t get back to sleep. Sorry for being a bitch earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I pause, thinking about my gut feeling earlier. Kane is right, how could his sister be the one doing this? She’s my best friend. “I need a favor.”

“You know I’d do anything for you,” she answers. “Put me to work, boss.”

“I hate it when you call me that.”

“I know,” she giggles. “What do you need?”

“It’s time to come back to LA. This isn’t going to end if I keep running and now, I’m putting Kane in danger.”

“You like my brother?”

“I do.”

“But you’re going to leave him? That doesn’t make a lot of sense, Violet. What do you think Kane is going to think when he finds out that you’ve just left him and gone back to LA where everything is easier for you?”

“Easier for me?” I don’t know what she means by that. “It’s not easier for me to leave him. My heart is breaking, but I can’t be responsible for him being hurt. If he’s safer without me then that’s how it has to be.”

“Where are you staying? I’ll send a car and get you a plane back to LA,” she says.

“I can get to the airport. We’re staying somewhere off grid like Kane said. I just need a flight back. If you’ll send me the information when you get it.” My palms are sweating from gripping the phone so tightly. “And, Zoe, please don’t say anything to Kane. It’s best if I just go.”

“Okay.”

She hangs up and I sit with the phone still in my tight knuckled grip. Am I doing the right thing? Probably not, but I think it’s the only thing I can do right now.

12

KANE

The next morningI know something is wrong the moment my eyes open. I look around the cabin and she’s not there.

“Violet,” I call out to the empty room.

The door opens and I expect the love of my life to walk through, but it’s not her.

“Dad, what are you doing here?”

“Violet called and asked me to pick you up this morning. She asked me to tell you that she doesn’t want to be followed and that she’s doing this because she can’t be the one to put you in danger after you came home safe from the military.” Dad sighs and sits down in the one chair in the room.

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