Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The warmth spreading through Cici’s chest had nothing to do with the restaurant’s temperature and everything to do with Asher’s words.
“Thank you.”
He held the door open, and she stepped back into the cool night air.
“For what you said in there about how God sees me,” she clarified. “I needed the reminder.”
He stepped into the shadow of the building and gazed down at her, his eyes serious. “I meant every word.”
Of course he did. He wasn’t the kind of man to say what he didn’t believe. That was why it had affected her so. “I need to stop letting my father’s opinion define my worth. Maybe I’m just the middle child who never quite measured up in the Wright family, but God thinks I’m special.”
“He’s not the only one who does.” The intensity in his voice made her breath catch. He stepped closer, holding her eye contact. “Cici, if I had every Wright sister to choose from—heck, if I had every woman in the world to choose from—I’d still choose you.”
She inhaled sharply. His words were a shock…and a balm. “Asher…”
“I know. It’s crazy and…probably feels sudden to you, but it isn’t, not for me.
” He shifted his hands to her waist, his voice dropping to that low rumble that made her pulse quicken.
“I knew back in high school that you were special. I’ve been trying to get you out of my head for a decade, but when I saw you in that hotel room the other day…
” He shook his head, a rueful smile playing at his lips.
“All those years of telling myself I’d imagined how incredible you were, and then there you were, beautiful and…
a little flustered to see me.” His lips tipped up in a small smile.
“No matter what I’ve been telling myself, I knew I was in trouble all over again. ”
“I’ve thought about you, too,” she whispered. “I used to wonder what would have happened if I’d been smart enough to accept your invitation to the prom.”
His whole life might’ve been different. They could have found each other years earlier. “Maybe it was better this way. If I’d had you, I wouldn’t have gone into the Navy, and…” He shrugged. “It was good for me, getting away from Maine, becoming someone I never imagined I could be.”
Though he wouldn’t say it to her, as a SEAL, he had made a difference. He’d saved lives. He was a different man now, a better man.
His thumbs traced gentle circles on her waist. “But now I’m back, and while so many things have changed, how I feel about you… You matter to me, Cici. More now than you did back then, because now I know who you really are. Your courage, your heart, the way you see the best in people.”
She reached up, her fingers grazing his jaw. “I care about you too. More than makes sense, considering we’ve only been together a few days.”
“Feels like longer.”
“In the best way.” She tipped toward him, but reality crashed back in. “What happens when we get back to Shadow Cove? You live in Boston, and my work takes me all over the East Coast.”
“We’ll figure it out.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m not giving up on this. On you. Not again.”
The certainty in his voice made her chest tighten with hope and fear. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
She stood on her toes and kissed him, soft and quick, tasting the future in that brief contact. When she pulled back, his eyes were dark with emotion.
“We should go,” he said reluctantly.
“We should.” But she didn’t want to. She wanted to stay in this moment, in this bubble where they were just Asher and Cici, where the world held promise instead of danger.
But the sound of an engine turning over in the distance reminded her that they weren’t safe yet. They returned to the motorcycle, donned their ponchos and helmets, and climbed on. She wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him a little tighter than necessary.
The road stretched dark ahead of them as they pulled away from Millerville’s glowing lights. Asher kept their speed steady, navigating the winding curves with ease.
Cici pressed her cheek against his back, feeling the steady rhythm of his breathing. Less than two hours to Shadow Cove. Less than two hours until this nightmare was over and they could figure out what came next.
Peace, Cici realized, was a luxury they couldn’t afford.
The twenty-minute pitstop had stretched into an hour, but now the motorcycle’s engine hummed beneath them as they wound through the Maine countryside. The headlight carved a narrow tunnel through the darkness ahead, illuminating rain-slicked asphalt that gleamed like obsidian.
Cici pressed closer against Asher, the conversation at the restaurant replaying in her mind. For the first time in years, maybe ever, she felt truly seen. Not as the overlooked middle child or the Wright sister who never quite measured up, but as herself. Special. Chosen.
The thought filled her with warmth, but fear twisted in her stomach.
They’d been stationary too long. Every minute they’d spent talking had been another minute for their enemies to close the distance.
Asher was certain they were safe, that nobody knew where they were.
But Gagnon and his goons had caught up with them before when they’d thought they were invisible.
She’d already had so much to lose. Now there was this new hope for her future, maybe even a future with this amazing man. The thought that she might not get to see where their feelings took them raised fresh terror inside her.
The road stretched ahead, flanked by dense forest that no longer felt safe but pressed in like walls. No streetlights, no other vehicles, just the two of them racing through a void toward Shadow Cove and safety.
“How much farther, do you think?” she called over the engine noise.
“An hour, maybe less.” Asher’s voice was steady, calming her worries.
He knew what he was doing. He’d proved that over and over. She needn’t worry.
She settled in for the final stretch, deciding to enjoy the closeness.
The miles passed in a hypnotic blur of darkness and engine vibration.
Cici let herself imagine what it would be like to see her family again, to sleep in her childhood bed without fear.
To wake up tomorrow and plan a future with Asher instead of just trying to survive.
The daydream shattered when twin beams shone in the rearview mirror. Probably nothing. There were towns around here, homes and farms. Surely that was just a local.
It caught up fast and then hovered a dozen yards behind them.
Even as she told herself she was fine, worry churned in her stomach. “Asher.”
“I see them. Hang on.”
She tightened her grip as the motorcycle shot forward.
She expected the car to shrink behind them, but it didn’t. It kept pace. No matter how fast Asher drove—too fast for the wet roads—it stayed on their tail.
Cici’s stomach dropped as they accelerated into a sharp curve, the bike leaning at an angle that made her squeeze her eyes shut.
Their pursuers didn’t drop back at all.
“We’re going to have to lose them,” Asher shouted. “Look at the map, find us a narrow road, better yet, a trail.”
She fumbled for the phone she’d shoved in her pocket, gripping Asher’s shirt in her other hand. When the app was open, she searched for someplace where this glorified dirt bike could be an advantage over the sedan behind them.
Terror had her hands shaking so hard she feared she’d drop the phone. If she didn’t find a trail, they were sunk.
Somehow, impossibly, they’d been tracked down again.
“There’s a narrow road up ahead. Not a trail, but maybe—”
“Warn me when we’re close.” As frightened as she was, Asher sounded calm and in control, as if he dealt with this kind of thing every single day. She thanked God for his skills. If anybody could get them out of this, Asher could.
The car behind them suddenly accelerated, its engine roaring as it pulled alongside them on the narrow road.
Cici’s heart hammered against her ribs as the passenger window rolled down, something gleaming in the darkness.
“Gun!” she screamed.
Asher swerved hard to the right, the motorcycle’s tires bouncing off the edge of the pavement. The crack of gunfire split the night air. The bullet missed, but she could swear she’d felt the heat of it whizzing past her face.
The bike wobbled dangerously as Asher fought to maintain control, getting it back onto the pavement. There was a deep gully separating the highway from the forest, filled with water. Impossible to tell how deep.
There was no exit until they made it to the turnoff.
“Two hundred feet!” She could barely force the words out over her terror, watching the map.
Another shot rang out, this one shattering the motorcycle’s side mirror. Fragments battered her helmet.
She dipped to the side, looking for the road. “It’s just ahead!”
Asher had just downshifted when she caught the glint of something, right where the side road should be.
They were nearly there when that something materialized—a truck.
It lurched onto the road in front of them, blocking their way.
Asher swerved to avoid it, the bike’s tires skidding on the wet pavement.
The world seemed to slow as the bike skidded, veering toward the far edge. It hit the lip and careened into the forest.
Beyond the layer of trees ahead, there was nothing but blackness. A cliff?
The bike crashed into a clump of bushes and small trees.
She lost her grip on him and flew, then landed in the bracken a dozen feet away.
She lay there, shocked, on the soft ground. Everything hurt, but she could move. She wasn’t badly injured.
She crawled to a nearby tree and pulled herself up. “Asher!” She stumbled toward him.
He lay half covered by the dirt bike. He wasn’t moving.
Lights shone behind her. The men were coming.
They were running out of time.
Moving toward him, she yanked off her helmet. When she reached where Asher had fallen, she lifted the heavy, ruined bike off him, pushed it out of the way, and knelt at his side. “Asher, please!” She shook his shoulder.