Page 45 of Controlled Chaos

Chapter 24

“I’m not going without you,”I said.

He cupped my cheek and held my gaze. The look in his eyes told me that I wasn’t going to like what he said next. “You said it yourself. I kill you. Me. I’ll never be able to live with myself if he were to make me do that. You have to leave. You have to go and take the evidence. Please. For me.”

My chest heaved with the need to flee. I’d been doing it most of my life. First from my family drama, and then from Carlos, but if there was ever a time, it was a necessity it was now.

Tears gathered in my eyes. I couldn’t walk away. Not from him. Not now, and if I stayed, it would be my demise. I was sure of that.

I pulled his lips down to mine and kissed him with the force of everything that was being stolen from me. The heat, the heart, the future that I’d desperately craved. I broke the kiss and nodded. With one last look over my shoulder at the dirt and the bodies probably buried beneath. Porter’s dad having suspicions all those years ago were starting to make sense. I agreed that I’d leave to ease his mind.

“I’ll leave after the bonfire,” I whispered between us. “And I’m taking Frankie with me. They’ll kill her if they know that she’s on to them.”

“Agreed.” Porter took my hand and led me back through the forest. “We won’t take any chances the rest of the day. We’ll stay in and away from the others, and then tonight during the bonfire, you’ll leave and I’ll cover for you.”

“Porter…”

He kissed my hand again. “You don’t need to be here for what I need to do.” He glanced in my direction. “I’m going to kill Thaddeus for what he took from me.”

“I know,” I said, squeezing his hand. “And be careful of your ex-girlfriend. She’s in on all of it, and you don’t know who else is a victim and who’s playing as one.”

The silence engulfed us until we neared the bungalow. “Is that why you slept with me?”

“Yes and no,” I answered, stopping him again. “I didn’t want to die with any regrets.” I turned to face him. “If things don’t go as planned and you get drugged and are told to kill me, I need you to know that I forgive you no matter what.”

“Clara…”

“Shh.” I rested my finger over his lips then replaced my finger with a kiss. He needed to understand that this wasn’t on him. No matter if he pulled the trigger. This wasn’t his fault. None of this was his fault. He was already going to be a broken mess while helping his mom deal with the truth of what happened to her first husband. Porter didn’t need me on his conscience. I wouldn’t let that happen.

He lifted me in his arms, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me into the bungalow, shutting the door behind us and locking it.

He carried me down the hall and into the bathroom, where he sat me on the sink and started the shower. “I know how we can keep occupied the rest of the day and off of everyone’s radar.”

I grinned. “I’m sure you do.”

And he delivered on his promise, over and over again throughout the day. The apples I’d picked had been the only substance we’d had to eat. If I’d been staying, I would have needed to make another run for fruit.

The sun set and the moon rose and with it my apprehensions. I couldn’t take my packed bag. The bulk of it would only slow me down. I couldn’t talk him into leaving with me, and somehow, in the pit of my stomach, I knew I wasn’t making it off the island either.

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