Page 100 of Hell or High Water

“Yeah, since I didn’t stalk you like a creep,” I snapped.

He winced. “It wasn’t like that. I was protecting you. You were alone. And I couldn’t stand the idea of you needing something and not having it.”

“I was doing just fine.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Were you?”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at him. “Yes, I was. Until you came along and started leaving those damn notes. I had a full-ride scholarship. I was going to graduate with friends I’d gone to school with most of my life and go on to get a college degree. I had a roof over my head, and my needs were met.”

He rubbed his jaw, and the look he gave me was almost smug. “Do you remember when you got the letter about receiving a full scholarship?” he asked.

I stilled.No. Please, don’t say you had something to do with that.

I’d been shocked, but I had convinced myself the college thought I deserved it. It had been something to make Momma smile there at the end.

I didn’t respond.

“When you left that night with Mallory, I asked a few questions about you. Pax knew very little. So, I made small talk with Mallory the next day, bringing you up. She was very chatty and shared without my having to pry really. I learned all about your mom, what you’d been going through, that you were worried about college and your future. She felt so bad for you.” He paused.

Did he expect me to say something here? He’d just yanked a rug out from under me. My plans. Everything.

“I made a call, found out what colleges you had applied to. You had only applied to one. I paid them a visit, spoke with the dean of admissions, and a week later, you received your letter, informing you that you’d been awarded a full ride in their nursing program.”

I sank down onto the sofa behind me. It was as if he’d knocked the wind out of me with one solid punch.

“That isn’t going to win you over either, is it?” he asked with a trace of disappointment in his tone.

Win me over? I lifted my eyes and stared at him. There was no winning me over. I wasn’t a prize. He had played me like a game, and I’d been clueless.

“I’ll ask you again. Do you love him?”

“Than?”

He cocked an eyebrow at me as if that was a stupid question.

I did. But that didn’t matter. You could love someone all you wanted, but it didn’t mean that they’d love you back. It was a cruel joke of the heart. To let one feel so deeply while the other only breached the surface of what could have been.

“Yes.” My voice was a whisper.

He let out a weary sigh. “I was afraid of that.”

“Even if I didn’t, there would never have been an us. Not after all you did.” I dropped my voice. “Watched me sleep.” Just saying it sent a chill down my spine.

He didn’t even have the decency to look remorseful. Instead, his mouth turned up at the corner, although the smile didn’t match his eyes. “And if it had been Than—if he had watched you sleep without you knowing, if it were him standing here right now—would you hold that against him?”

How did I answer that? Doing so would make his actions less of a crime.

“You don’t have to respond. Your eyes say it all. I love that about you, the way you share every feeling, bared and open, right there in your gaze. I hope he’s worthy of you.”

I stood up, feeling vulnerable suddenly. “Again, not your concern,” I told him.

He seemed amused by that, then leaned toward me, although he didn’t move his feet to actually step closer. “If he hurts you, I’ll kill him.” Then he straightened, gave me a single nod, and walked toward the door.

I watched him go, not sure if Linc was right about him. There was a darkness there that went deeper than anything I’d seen in Than’s eyes.

Forty-Seven

Than

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