Chapter 34
Rowan had gone to the kennel to play with the puppies again. As she sat with them in their pen, voices had drifted in from outside.
The conversation was between Caleb and Wes. She hadn’t intended to listen in. Yet she hadn’t been able to stop herself either.
One of Juno’s puppies climbed clumsily across her shoe, chewing at the lace with tiny, determined bites. Normally the sight would’ve made her smile.
Now she barely noticed. Instead, her mind kept replaying what she’d overheard.
One part of the conversation kept repeating.
This property already had enemies before she came home.
I don’t like what that means for the women staying here.
Something tight and painful settled in her chest.
Because Wes was right.
She did blame herself.
The surveillance photograph had made that impossible to ignore. Someone had followed her into Refuge Cove’s woods. Someone had watched the property. Had watched her family. Watched Naomi and Grace.
Now Wes was standing outside discussing perimeter breaches like Refuge Cove had become an active security problem instead of a home.
A home she’d brought danger into. Sure, maybe there was some before she came. But she’d definitely added to it.
The puppy finally lost interest in her shoelace and wandered across the blanket-covered floor toward its siblings. Rowan stared after it a moment, envying the creature’s innocence and the simplicity of its life.
Then she stood. The kennel suddenly felt too warm, too small.
She slipped out through the side door opposite Wes and Caleb and crossed the yard without heading toward the house.
This was the place where her siblings lived.
And that was the problem.
Her family would never ask her to leave. They loved her too much for that.
They loved her so much that they’d put themselves in danger.
Her being here wasn’t fair to anyone.
She couldn’t stay here any longer, she realized.
She would leave tonight.
Before things got worse. Before someone else got hurt. Before Refuge Cove became collateral damage in a nightmare that had started three thousand miles away.
Pain pressed hard against her ribs at the thought.
She’d only been back a handful of days, and already the idea of leaving again felt unbearable.
That evening, after Rowan approved the statement from Tessa, she waited until the house went quiet.
She sat on the edge of her bed, a note folded on the nightstand beside the lamp.
She’d rewritten it three times.
Nothing she put on paper sounded right.
How did she explain leaving the people she loved because staying might destroy everything they’d built?
In the end, the note was short.
I’m sorry. I love all of you. This is the only way I know to keep you safe.
Rowan quietly picked up her bag and slipped from the room.
As she passed Naomi’s door, emotion tightened in her chest.
For one dangerous second, she almost knocked. Almost woke her sister up and told her everything.
But Naomi would never let her go. None of them would.
That was exactly the problem.
Rowan tiptoed through the kitchen and opened the door to the garage.
Every step toward her car felt heavier than the one before it.
She needed to leave before sunrise. She needed to get far enough away before anyone woke up. It was the only thing that made sense.
She closed the door behind her, and darkness immediately wrapped around her.
Her hand found the wall as she searched for the light switch.
Then she froze.
Movement. She heard movement.
In the garage.
That was when she realized someone was in the room with her.