7. Trinity
Chapter Seven
TRINITY
I wake to an empty bed and the sound of rain against the windows. Hunter's side is cold; he's been gone for hours. A note on his pillow tells me he was called out for an early morning search and rescue mission. Some hikers stranded by a flash flood.
Risky whines from the foot of the bed, his brown eyes following me as I move around the room collecting my scattered clothes from yesterday.
“Just you and me today, boy.” He wags his tail and I pat his bristly head.
The past few days with Hunter have been like living in a dream. Warm and safe and wanted. But as I stand at the kitchen window as rain streaks like tears down the glass, reality crashes back in.
Holloway knows I'm in Ember Heart. Rennick has a PI looking for me. And I've brought all that danger straight to Hunter's door.
I make coffee, trying to shake off the growing dread. But as I reach for a mug, my eyes catch the photos on Hunter's fridge. Him with his brothers at what looks like a family barbecue. A Christmas gathering with Josie smiling. The search and rescue team posing with Risky grinning in the center.
People who matter to him. Good people who could get hurt because of me.
My phone chimes with a news alert. I'd set up notifications for Rennick's name. My fingers shake as I open the article: “Centare Capital Expands West, Opens Office in Montana.” The photo shows Rennick at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, his practiced smile not reaching his cold eyes.
Montana. He's in Montana now.
It's not a coincidence. He's tracking me.
The mug slips from my hand, shattering on the kitchen floor. Risky jumps back, startled by the noise.
“I'm sorry,” I say, though I'm not sure if I'm talking to the dog or to Hunter.
I clean up the broken pieces mechanically, mind racing. If Rennick finds me here, he won't just come for me. He'll destroy anyone who gets in his way. Hunter. His family. Even Risky.
The decision crystallizes with terrible clarity. I have to leave. Now. Before Hunter returns. Before I let my selfish desires put him in danger.
I pack quickly, shoving my few belongings into my duffel bag.
Downstairs, Risky watches me with those intelligent eyes that seem to understand exactly what I'm doing.
“I can't take you with me,” I tell him, kneeling to hold his furry face between my hands. “Hunter needs you. You have to stay and take care of him.”
The dog whines, pressing his head against my chest as if trying to change my mind. I bury my face in his soft fur, allowing myself one moment of weakness as tears spill onto his coat.
“I'm going to miss you too, buddy.”
I need to write Hunter a note. Something to explain, to make him understand why I can't stay. But what can I possibly say? How do I tell him that these past days have meant everything to me, that I'm leaving precisely because I care too much?
In the end, I keep it simple:
Hunter,
I saw that Rennick is in Montana now. He's coming for me, and I won't let him hurt you or your family. I'm sorry. Please don't look for me.
Thank you for showing me what it feels like to be safe.
Love, Trinity
I leave the note on the kitchen table. One last look around the cabin, and I'm out the door, ignoring Risky's plaintive howls behind me.
The rain has slowed to a drizzle by the time I reach the main road. I walk the two miles to town, the weight of my duffel nothing compared to the heaviness in my chest. The bus station is quiet, just a bored ticket agent flipping through a magazine.
“Where to?” she asks without looking up.
“Anywhere.” I place my cash on the counter. “Whatever's leaving next.”
“Bakersville, half hour.” She pushes a ticket toward me. “Change there for wherever you're headed.”
I take a seat by the window, my reflection ghostly in the rain-streaked glass. What am I doing? Where am I even going?
But this time feels different. Before, I was running from something. Now, I'm leaving someone behind. Someone who made me feel alive again. Someone who held me through the night and kissed me like I mattered. Someone who promised to protect me.
The bus arrives with a hiss of brakes. I board mechanically, taking a seat at the back, away from the few other passengers. As we pull away from the station, my eyes search the passing scenery, hoping for and dreading one last glimpse of Hunter's motorcycle. But the streets are empty in the rain.
The bus starts and I press my forehead against the cool glass. Hunter will be returning at some point, finding my note. Will he be angry? Relieved to be rid of the complication I brought into his life? Or hurt that I left without saying goodbye?
The thought of hurting him makes my chest ache. The truth I've been avoiding crashes over me with devastating clarity.
I love him.
The realization knocks the breath from my lungs. I love Hunter Blake, with his protective fierceness and gentle touches. His loyalty to family and his unwavering promise to keep me safe.
And I've left him. This is all wrong.
“No!” I cry out, standing suddenly. “Stop the bus. I need to get off.”
The driver glances at me in the rearview mirror. “Next stop is five miles ahead, miss.”
I grab my bag and move toward the front. “Please. I made a mistake. I need to go back.”
Something in my voice must convince him. With a sigh, he pulls onto the shoulder near a roadside rest area.
“This is as good as it gets,” he says, opening the door. “There's a phone if you need to call someone.”
“Thank you.” I hurry down the steps, duffel clutched to my chest.
The rest area is deserted in the dreary weather. I stand under the small shelter, trying to figure out how to get back to town, back to Hunter. I call him, but his phone is off during the rescue mission. I could try to flag down a passing car, but the road is deserted.
I'm contemplating the long walk back to town when headlights appear through the drizzle. A truck slows, pulling into the rest area. Relief floods through me as I wave at it. I can hitch back into Ember Heart.
A large man steps from the truck, rain darkening his flannel shirt. “Well, well. Look who it is. My runaway bride.”
Oh no.
It’s Holloway.
I back away, clutching my bag like a shield. “Leave me alone.”
“Can't do that, girly.” His smile doesn't reach his eyes. “We had a deal, remember? You owe me.”
“I don't owe you anything.” My voice is steadier than I feel. “There was no deal.”
He moves closer, blocking my path to the road. “Five hundred dollars. That's what I paid that site. That's what you owe me.”
“I never asked you to pay anything.” I glance around for witnesses, for help, but we're alone.
“Get in the truck, bitch!” he snaps, all pretense of friendliness gone. “We're gonna sort this out, you and me.”
“I'm not going anywhere with you.”
His hand shoots out, grabbing my arm hard enough to bruise. “You got two choices. Come with me now, or I call the police and report you for fraud.”
“What?” My heart is hammering in my chest.
“You scammed me. Probably took the money for yourself.” His smile is cruel now.
“I did not–”
“Shut up. My word against yours.” His grip tightens. “Who you think they'll believe? Me, or some runaway nobody with no ID?”
If he calls the police, they might arrest me. And then what? My real name in the system, Rennick finding me in a jail cell?
“Fine,” I say, the fight draining out of me. “I'll go with you. Just let go of my arm.” I’ll have to think of a way to escape once he takes me back to his place.
His grip loosens slightly as he steers me toward his truck. “Smart girl. We're gonna get along just fine, once you learn your place.”
As he forces me into the passenger seat, all I can think about is Hunter finding my note. Hunter, who promised to protect me. Hunter, who I love and left behind.
The truck door slams shut like a prison cell, Holloway's satisfied smirk visible through the window as he circles to the driver's side. I've escaped one monster only to fall into the hands of another.
And this time, no one knows where I am.