He dropped her on her feet, kicked the master bedroom door closed, and then tugged her into his arms. “You will be.” Before he was done, he planned to make sure that distance between them vanished for good. He lowered his mouth to hers and reveled in the soft sigh that slipped from her lips just before she sank into the kiss. “Give in to me, Evie.”
Her fingers threaded into his hair, and her hips pressed flush against his. “I already have, haven’t I?”
He needed to make sure she always would. He walked her back toward the bed. “Do it again.”
23
Eve waited until Zane was sound asleep before she eased quietly out from under his warm, naked body.
The clock read 2:00 a.m., which meant she didn’t have many hours until daylight. Tugging on a long-sleeved shirt and slim jeans, she bit her lip to keep from groaning at the ache in her muscles. This was a sweet ache, though. From Zane’s adventurous lovemaking, which had lasted way longer than she’d expected.
Warmth rolled through her belly and hips when she remembered his hands, his lips, the wicked things he could do with his tongue. As she sat on a bench in the walk-in closet and pulled on a pair of hiking boots, then reached for a light jacket from a hanger, she reminded herself she wasn’t running. Not like the last time. She was doing this for him.
Yeah, he’d be ticked when he awoke and found she was gone, but she wasn’t about to let one more person she cared about get hurt because of her. Even if they thought they had a foolproof plan. Because there was no such thing as a foolproof plan in this situation.
She checked the magazine on the Glock she’d set on the shelf in the closet when they’d first arrived, then holstered it at her back. Her gut said Roberts was not the mole.
And if you’re wrong?
Well, then she’d be the one to take him out.
Quietly, she stepped out of the closet and paused in the middle of the bedroom. Zane’s rhythmic breathing echoed from the bed. She moved to the end of the mattress and stared down at him. He was lying on his side, his cheek pressed against the pillow, his hand up near his face, the blanket low against his lean hips, showcasing the muscles in his belly and chest and arms, making her ache to slide back in next to him and forget her stupid plan.
But it wasn’t stupid. And she was done sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to happen. Olivia was safe. She knew Miller and the others would protect her. Now it was her turn to protect the people she loved.
She didn’t kiss him goodbye. Knew if she did and he woke up, she’d lose her chance to make a clean break. Pulse racing, she stepped out of the room, took one last look, and then closed the door softly at her back.
The keys Zane had left sitting on the dresser in the bedroom jingled in her pocket as she made her way downstairs. She paused on the bottom step, waiting to see if anything moved in the house. When only silence met her ears, she crossed to the dark kitchen, scribbled a note, and then folded it and left it on the entry table.
He’d parked the car in the adjacent garage building. Her eyes grew wide when she opened the door to the garage, stepped inside, and flipped on the light. Four shiny snowmobiles, a pristine tractor outfitted with a snow blade to clear the drive, two dirt bikes, and a Range Rover. Top-of-the-line, of course. So new it looked like it had hardly been used.
She bypassed the toys and headed for Zane’s Taurus.
It took a little maneuvering, but she was able to put the vehicle in neutral and push it outside. After closing the garage doors, she got out and gave the car a push, then rushed back to the driver’s side and jumped in. The door closed softly at her side. She coasted down the driveway. When she was a hundred yards away, she finally turned the key in the ignition.
A quick look in the rearview mirror assured her no one had turned on the lights in the house. No one even knew she was gone.
And that was good, because where she was going, she didn’t want anyone to follow.
Zane sat straight up in bed. His heart pounded hard. His skin was slicked with sweat. He wasn’t sure what had woken him, but the tightness in his chest screamed that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
Early-morning light speared through the wall of windows that looked out toward the lake. Water sparkled in the distance, and blue-green mountains rose on every side, but he didn’t see the beauty around him. Leaning back on his hands, he looked around the quiet room while his heart beat a staccato against his ribs. “Eve?”
No answer.
Panic crept into his chest, taking up space. He darted a look toward the bathroom. The door was pushed partway open, but no light spilled from the other side. “Eve?”
A cold chill spread down his spine. Throwing back the covers, he tossed his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his jeans from the floor. After tugging them on, he crossed the floor and pushed the bathroom door open wider.
The lavish bathroom was dark and empty. He flipped on a light and looked around. That panic condensed, growing with every silent second.
Moving back into the bedroom, he headed for the master closet and found it empty as well. But Eve’s gun was gone from the shelf.
Panic rolled to disbelief, then downright betrayal. “Son of a bitch.”
He snagged a shirt and pushed his feet into his boots, then rushed down the stairs. Marley and Olivia were sitting on the couch quietly talking when he entered the room. Miller and Ryder were in the kitchen, arguing over a griddle of what smelled like burning pancakes. All four looked up when he entered. There was no sign of Eve.
Son of a . . . goddammit. He’d caught the signs last night, and he’d all but ignored them. He was either the biggest fucking idiot on the planet or . . .
He clenched his jaw. No, there was no “or.” That was him to the letter.
“She’s gone,” he announced.
Olivia’s eyes grew wide, and she pushed up from the couch “What? What do you mean by ‘gone’?”
Ryder set the spatula on the counter, his brows dropping low. “Are you sure?”
“Pretty damn.” Zane raked his hand through his hair. He’d fallen asleep after their lovemaking, and the whole time she’d been plotting to run. Had the last few days not meant anything to her? He hadn’t missed the fact she hadn’t told him she loved him. Obviously, he was still nothing more than a means to an end to her.
“I’ll check outside.” Miller moved for the back door.
“Maybe we’re jumping the gun.” Marley pushed up from the couch and stepped into the kitchen. Her hair was loose around her face, and the glasses she always wore were currently sitting on the table next to her laptop. “Maybe she’s just out for a walk.”
“Out for a walk. Right.” Zane rested his hands on his hips. No, she was long gone. And he wouldn’t find her until she surfaced, which could be months—years—later. No one was better at disappearing than Evelyn Wolfe. “Her gun’s missing.”
“Um, Zane?”
Zane looked toward the archway where Olivia stood. In her hand she held a slip of paper.
“What is it?” Ryder crossed the floor and took the note from Olivia’s fingers. He scanned it, then looked up at Zane. “It’s for you.”
Zane took the paper and stared down at Eve’s handwritten scribbles across the sheet.
Sawyer—
I lied. It’s the only thing I know how to do well. Forget about Roberts. If you’re smart, you’ll disappear, just like I plan to do.
—Juliet
His heart thumped hard while he read the words again and again. But this panic wasn’t clamping down over the fact she’d left. This time it was fear over what she planned to do next that caused his pulse to soar.