Page 33 of Nowhere to Run

“I was trying to let him down easy,” I said, my voice soothing as I reached out, smoothing a shaky hand over his fist.

His body tensed beneath my touch, but I kept my hand there, searching his face. I needed him to feel it. To believe that Ryanwas a real threat. That he was the reason Adrian and I couldn’t be together. Because if Adrian wouldn’t accept me telling him I didn’t want him… then it had to be something else. Something bigger. Something neither of us could control.

I took a breath.

“I think he’s dangerous,” I whispered.

Adrian’s jaw flexed, but he said nothing.

I hesitated—then played my next card.

“He had connections.”

A beat of silence.

I didn’t elaborate. Didn’t need to. Just let the implication hang there.

That maybe, just maybe… Ryan could get Adrian killed.

I gulped hard, my voice barely above a whisper. “I just want you to be safe.”

Adrian exhaled sharply. “So let me get this straight.”

His voice was measured, clipped.

“You’ve been dodging my messages, telling me to back off, and now this guy won’t leave you alone?

He chuckled softly, shaking his head in disbelief. “I mean, I get it. You’re amazing.”

His fingers rubbed at his forehead, like it was too much to process.

I seized the moment. “I know, it’s crazy.” My voice dropped lower, urgent. “He said that if he can’t have me, no one can.”

The guilt of escalating the lie tightened in my chest. But I needed it to cut deep. To sink into Adrian’s core.

But then—his entire demeanor shifted. The tension bled from his frame as he sat beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Pulling me firmly against his chest.

“Hey. It’s going to be okay,” he murmured, holding me close. “I’m not worried about my car, or about me. I can handle him.”

His hand moved up and down my back, the rhythm almost soothing. Guilt twisted inside me like a blade.

“But I am worried about you.”

His voice softened, his fingers tracing the curve of my spine.

Gentle. Intimate.

I froze, my breath catching as he leaned closer. The tenderness in his touch was almost too much to bear.

Gently, he lifted my face, tilting it until my eyes met his. His eyes burned with something dangerous. Something certain.

“I can protect you from him.”

His grip tightened—not harsh, but firm. Possessive.

“He won’t dare come near you if I’m around.”

A pause. A smirk.

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