“Mercy!” I cried out. “I give up!”
“Not so tough now, are you—?” Jay laughed, but stopped short when a beeping sound blared out from the kitchen.
Jay froze, his expression suddenly serious, and looked toward the door.
“What?” I asked.
“Shh!” he hissed, pressing a finger to his lips.
Jay listened, then leapt up and hit the light switch, bathing the cabin in blackness. He grabbed me roughly by the wrist, pulled me to my feet and pushed me up against the fridge.
He vanished into the bedroom and returned seconds later with a pair of black jeans and a pistol in his hand. My heart lurched as a dose of cool panic flowed up my spine.
“Jay…?”
“I’m so sorry, Rachel,” he whispered. “No one should know about this place. That was my security sensor at the edge of the property.”
“Is it…them?” I asked.
Jay bit his lip and slowly nodded. “You stay here, baby. I’ll handle this.”
“Wait!” I hissed, grabbing him by the arm as he tried to leave. “Don’t!”
“I have no choice,” he said. “Stay here. It’s the only way I can keep you safe.”
And like that—he was gone, out the door and racing away into the night.
Chapter Twelve
Rachel
I was alone. Suddenly the cabin felt foreign, and although Jay had told me I’d be safe here, I felt anything but.
Where was I anyway? I didn’t know the area. I didn’t know the layout of the house. I didn’t know if there was anything around to defend myself with if someone came—not like I’d be any good at that anyway. I highly doubted my tennis and swimming lessons would do much to protect me from someone trying to hurt me.
At first I’d hoped it was just Caleb or my parents who had somehow managed to follow us here, but there was no doubt about it; whoever had come onto the property was involved with Jay’s past with the drug smugglers.
But he’d said they were all arrested? Was it possible they missed one of them? And how did they find this place?
“Shit!” I hissed, running my fingers through my hair. My body was shaking again, but not for the reason from before.
I pressed my back against the cool fridge and listened for any kind of sound that would give me information as to what was going on, but all I heard was the wind in the trees.
I almost screamed as the refrigerator clicked on and rumbled behind me. My legs went weak and I fell into a seated position with both hands clamped over my mouth.
The cabin was pitch black. From where I was sitting, I could barely make out the outline of the couch where Jay and I had just made love…
…and told each other we loved each other.
The thought warmed the cold inside me, but not enough to cure my fear. And it wasn’t even fear for myself; it was fear for Jay.
He was out there in the darkness, among the trees with a gun in his hand, risking his life to protect me.
I was suddenly acutely aware of my heartbeat, sharp and elev
ated in my chest, and ringing in my ears which were on fire. My hands were tingling like they had fallen asleep, and my legs were tense and ready to run.
But where would I go even if I did?