CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
JAMES
I turn off the truck, but my shoulders are still tight. Even though I’m back at the lake house after a long day scavenging with Michael in a small town, I can’t shake the tension.
I climb out of the truck. My aching muscles drag me down, but my eyes are working overtime, scanning the back of the house, hoping to see her.
That’s weird. Sarah always runs out the second she hears the engine. Maybe she didn’t hear us pull in. Or maybe…
No, she’s fine.
Still, I glance at the window of our room, willing even a flicker of movement.
No candlelight. No sign of life.
My jaw clenches in the silence.
I exhale sharply, trying to shake the feeling, but being away from her all day feels like torture.
I left her with Ryan and Lorelai, and yeah, the lake house is well hidden, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I hate being away from her. Hate it.
I grab both backpacks from the back of the truck, each weighing a solid fifty pounds, and haul them inside, dropping them onto the kitchen island. Still no sign of Sarah.
Michael stops beside me, tossing two more overstuffed backpacks onto the pile. We hit the jackpot today: food, lighters, candles, blankets, even two handguns with ammo. We cleaned the place out before sundown.
Lorelai walks in wearing a red dress that hugs every curve and barely covers her thighs. Michael tilts his head, checking out her ass. She notices, of course, but she’s too busy glaring at me like I just ruined her whole week.
“You finally showed up. Though honestly, it would’ve been better if you’d just stayed gone,” she says.
The fuck does that mean?
I ignore the urge to argue. I don’t have time for Lorelai’s drama right now.
“Lorelai, where’s Sarah?”
I hear footsteps on the stairs, and my heart kicks, expecting her. But no, it’s just Ryan. He walks into the kitchen wearing a blue hoodie and a smug-ass smile.
“Dead man walking,” he says, staring straight at me. He slides an arm around Lorelai’s waist and rests his chin on her shoulder. “Man, Sarah is so pissed at you, even I was scared of her today.”
What the hell?
“She’s pissed at me too?” Michael asks.
Ryan shakes his head. “Nope.”
Michael sighs in relief. “Thank Jesus for that.”
“What did I do?” I demand, trying not to lose it.
Lorelai scoffs. “More like what didn’t you do.”
I frown, not following. “What?”
Lorelai folds her arms, even more annoyed. “Ever since she twisted her ankle a month ago, you haven’t let her go anywhere. Not once. Every time we head out scavenging, you come up with some excuse to keep her here.”
I open my mouth, but she’s already steamrolling ahead.
“In the beginning, I got it. She couldn’t run on crutches if shit went south. But she’s been fine for a whole week now. One week! And still, you left this morning to scout another town without her.”
I rub the back of my neck. My shoulders knot up even more.
“And the worst part? You didn’t even tell her. She woke up looking for you, and you were already gone. How do you think that made her feel? Hmm? I don’t know… maybe a little betrayed?”
I grit my teeth. I try to hold it together, but I can’t anymore.
“Stop!” I snap, slamming my fist onto the kitchen island.
“I wasn’t the only one in that parking lot, was I?
” My eyes flick between all of them. “You all heard what Axel said, didn’t you?
They’re looking for me. And now they’ve started coming after anyone connected to Outsiders.
That makes Sarah their main fucking target.
She can’t leave this house for a damn good reason, and I’m not putting her life at risk again. Goddammit!”
The whole room falls quiet.
My breathing is rough, and my hand still rests on the counter, fingers twitching.
Ryan looks down, avoiding my gaze, and Michael bites the inside of his cheek.
But Lorelai stares straight into my eyes, unflinching.
She knows exactly what I’m talking about.
Her life with Aaron wasn’t easy. Not with the shit Ryan’s told Michael and me.
And she was there that day in the parking lot, beside Sarah, when Axel made his threats.
Threats Sarah still can’t bring herself to tell me.
“But James—” Lorelai starts, but I cut her off.
“No. I don’t want to hear it. After everything that’s happened to her, I made the call—we’re staying here.
We’re not heading north anymore. And you all agreed.
She’s in danger the second someone links her to me.
What if someone recognizes me on the road and sees her with me?
What if she breaks an arm or a leg next time and can’t fight back if they catch us? ”
My mind goes somewhere dark. Somewhere I don’t want it to go.
Lorelai steps closer, unfazed by the fire burning off me. She’s not scared of me. Not after Aaron. Not when she’s seen worse things in this world than my temper.
“I know you guys have spent the last month turning this place into a fortress,” she says, her voice quiet now.
“You’ve hidden the car trails, made an extra escape route, set traps all over the woods around the lake.
” She shakes her head. “Heck, you even changed the chimney pipes so smoke from the fireplace wouldn’t be visible from the highway.
And I’m grateful for all that, James, I really am. But…”
I narrow my eyes. “But?”
“But a fortress can also feel like a prison.”
That hits different. That’s the last thing I ever want Sarah to feel about this place.
I drop my head and take a slow breath.
“Where is she?” I ask.
Lorelai nods toward the front door. “She’s at the lake. But she doesn’t want to see you.”
Michael claps his hands once. “Well, that was fun. But I’ve had enough excitement for one night. I’m out.” He shoots me a look, smirking. “Good luck, man. You’re gonna need it.”
Trust Michael to be the one who breaks the tension. It’s kinda his thing.
I can still hear him and Ryan laughing as I step outside.
The flashlight on the dock casts a weak beam into the night. Everything else is drowned in silver moonlight. The air’s still warm from the day, heavy with lingering heat.
I move through the shadows, tall grass muffling my steps as I make my way toward the lake.
And then I see her.
She’s floating in the middle of the water, wearing nothing but yellow lingerie, like a damn lighthouse in the dark. She has no idea how fucking tempting she looks.
I should’ve grabbed her a bathing suit in town today, but I like her this way. Not that she’ll be wearing that lingerie much longer.
Sweat slides down my neck as I strip off my shirt, then kick off my boots and step out of my jeans. I wade into the lake in just my boxers, staying in the shadows behind the dock, watching her. She hasn’t seen me yet, but she hears the water shift.
“Lorelai?” she asks, lifting her head, trying to make out who it is in the dark. “What are you doing creeping around like that? I can’t see a thing.”
“You shouldn’t trust any shadow after dark.”
She goes still. She knows my voice. She knows it’s me.
I swim forward until the flashlight on the dock catches me in its glow.
I crook a finger her way. “Sarah, come here.”
She turns her back on me, and dark amusement coils inside me.
All right. I know how to make her look at me.
“Chloe wouldn’t have turned her back on me,” I say, casual as hell. “When we were on the ranch, she did exactly what I told her to.”
That oughta do it. Sarah never resists a fight.
Her body locks up. And when she turns, the fire in her eyes could burn me alive.
That’s right, baby. Look at me.
“I don’t want to talk to you. Go away,” she snaps.
“No.”
“Fine! Then I’ll go.”
She swims toward the far side of the dock, trying to escape me, but I’m faster. I slice through the water, closing the distance between us and blocking her path before she can even think about climbing out.
“Talk to me,” I say.
She glares, chin high. “We have nothing to talk about. You made that pretty damn clear when you left this house this morning without a word to me. You’re my enemy now.”
Sometimes I forget she’s younger than me, tossing around words like “enemy” as if we’re kids playing pretend. But in the real world, our world, I’ve had plenty of the real thing.
I chuckle under my breath. “Enemy, huh?”
She huffs and splashes water at me before whipping around, ready to swim off again. That’s not happening. Before she can take a single stroke, I catch her wrist and pull her back into me. Her wet skin smacks against my chest, a gasp tearing from her lips.
I grab her other wrist, crossing her arms in front of her as I drag her in, skin to skin. She squirms, but I just hold her tighter, my arms locked around her waist, trapping hers between us.
“Let me go, James. I don’t want to talk to you. I’m just here to watch the stars. Or do I need your permission to be at the lake now, too?”
I glance up at the sky. Pitch black. Not a single star. Just clouds.
Liar.
She wanted me to find her here. Just the thought brings a stupid smile to my face.
I nip at her earlobe, my breath hot against her neck.
“Talk to me.”
She doesn’t say a word.
My lips graze the corner of hers, then press a kiss there.
“Talk to me.”
I kiss the other corner, feeling the electricity crackling between us.
“Talk to me, Sarah.”
Still, nothing.
I keep kissing her, tongue trailing down the curve of her neck, drinking in the heat of her skin. She smells like flowers and fire and mine.
I need to taste her.
I crush my mouth to hers, desire taking over. My lips move hard against hers, my tongue slipping inside, greedy for more. She moans, soft and breathy, and I feel it all the way down to my fucking bones.
I release her arms, and she melts into me, kissing me back with pure, fucking passion. Her tongue brushes mine in deep, intense strokes, and her fingers twist into my hair, holding me there with her.
Sweet Jesus.
By the time we break apart, we’re both gasping for air.