“I didn’t come all this way to talk about that bitch. Can you tell me why you need a gun, Mackenzie?” Chad throws his legs off the side of the bed and stands, pointing a gun at me.

Shit, he has my gun.

I weigh up my options. I could scream for help, but no one would hear me over Max’s game. I could run, but won’t get very far, or I can fight him.

Before I can unstick my legs, he’s moving toward me. Acting on bad instinct, I react. Spinning in my spot, I hold onto my towel and try to make a run for it.

“I don’t think so, Mackenzie.” Chad races behind me, his hand snaking out, fisting my hair and pulling me back. “You and I have things we need to discuss,” he seethes, tightening his grip. I fight back, reaching over my shoulders and slapping him. He recoils, letting me go, but before I can pull away he slaps me hard, a stinging sensation covers my cheek. I drop to the floor from the force, my towel falling away from my body, exposing me.

Reaching for the towel, I leave myself open. Not missing his chance, he delivers a kick to my side. Air leaves my lungs in a sharp thud before my long lost friend, pain, comes to visit.

Knowing I can’t cower, I roll to the side, give up the towel and find my balance as I stand up. I need to keep myself up if I’m going to have any chance.

“You’ve ruined my life long enough.” He reaches for me again, but I shift out of his way. I just need to get the gun out of his hands.

“Please, Chad,” I beg as I back out of my room. I don’t know why I think it will work, but I need to try something.

“None of this had to happen, Mackenzie.” He follows me out, not chasing me, but drawing out my panic.

“You’re right. It didn’t then and it doesn’t now. Please put the gun down and we can talk this through,” I try to reason. Maybe if he believes I want to work things out, I might have a shot at this.

“You’ve made my life hell the last eighteen months. Do you know what people are saying? The rumors that spread because of what you did? I had to file for divorce. Make it out that I divorced you for abandoning me. You fucking did this.” A wave of relief and sadness washes over me knowing we’re no longer married. Can he even do that?

“You know what we had was unhealthy, Chad.” I attempt to talk to him, not at him.

“How can you say that? I fucking love you.” He steps forward, gun raised. His eyes are frenzied, his hands shaking. “You fucking left me.” Another step closer.

“Please, Chad.” It’s almost surreal. After running for so long, this is what it comes down to.

“You promised me till death do us part. Remember, Mackenzie?” My back finds the wall as the gun finds my chest. “I’ve come to make sure you honor our vows.”

Twenty-Five

Mackenzie

“Beau?” I whisper a few hours after I pretended to fall asleep. Beau doesn’t stir so I quickly slip out of his bed and sneak back into my room to grab the small emergency backpack I’ve kept since living here.

I didn’t want to have to do this, but there is no other way. I can’t let this come out. My only option is to get out of town.

The house is quiet as I tiptoe down the hall and make my escape. I don’t spare a second glance at the home Beau offered me. My only desire is to get out. It’s like I’m on autopilot, my mind emotionally bankrupt. There is nothing left to say. With each stride, my resolution grows. It’s as if the distance from the safety of Beau’s arms gives me more clarity. The truth is, since I’ve been back, I’ve invented every excuse for staying, when I should have got the hell out of here. I’ve been living a lie, a beautiful lie, with fake hope. I know Beau is going to be pissed, but I also know he’s not going to understand. I can’t have people looking for me here. I need to make a clean break and go back on the run.

Making it to the front door, I don’t spare one last look before flicking the lock and slowly opening the door. The glow from the full moon is enough to guide me along the porch and down the stairs.

I’m not sure where I’m going, or how I’m going to get there, all I know is I have to get out of here before anyone finds out.

“Mackenzie?” My name from Beau’s mouth startles me as I take my first step on the grass. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I- I.” I take a breath and gather my thoughts. “I have to go.”

“The fuck, Kenzie? You’re not going anywhere.” His brows are bent in and his fists clench at his side. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so angry. Before tonight, it would have scared me to see it on him, but knowing what might happen if I stay, I can’t let it bother me.

“I need to go, Beau.” I shake my head, not sure if I need to clear it, or to stop him from arguing.

“Talk to me, darlin’.” He changes tactics, stepping forward, trying to move closer.

“I have to do this, Beau. I have to go,” I rush out my words. The early morning air bites at my skin, but my body is hot with fear.

“Why do you need to go, Mackenzie?” He takes another step, and this time I retreat.

“You won’t understand. Just let me go.”

“I can’t do that, Mackenzie. I won’t.”

“If you care for me, you will.” I know I’m reaching, and it’s not going to help me, but I can’t just give up.

“Not fucking happening. You don’t know me very well if you think that’s gonna work on me.”

“I need to do this.”

“You don’t know what you need.” He keeps coming at me, pushing and drawing me back at every angle.

“Oh, and you do?” I lash out, done with this back and forth.

“Yes, I fucking do. I’ve been giving you what you need since you’ve been back.”

“Right, because I’m this weak woman, right? I couldn’t possibly know how to look after myself.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth, Mackenzie.” His eyes flick up to the road as a car travels down it.

“No, you didn’t have to, Beau.”

“What the fuck is really going on here?” His arms fold over his chest, forcing the muscles to compress under his shirt. To anyone looking on it might seem concerning, a male exerting his power to intimidate me, but I know that’s not the case.

“I have to leave. It’s not safe for me anymore.”

“So you’re running?”

“I’m just protecting you, Beau.” He laughs a short, unimpressed laugh, as if the thought is ridiculous. “So you’re gonna walk out in the middle of the night, without a goodbye. That’s what I fucking deserve?”

“No, you deserve so much more, but I knew you wouldn’t let me go.”

“You’re fucking right I’m not letting you go. I’ve already let you go once. I ain’t doing it again. Not when Chad is still out there.”

“You just don’t get it.” My hands move to my temples, trying to force the pressure down. The lies and the deceit build ten-fold as the man I love stands in front of me, oblivious to what I have done. Visions of that night start to weigh me down, distorting my present with the horrible past. “Kenzie.” I hear his voice trying to break through.

“I killed him, okay. He’s gone. He’s not coming back for me. He never was. I made it up. It was a lie. I even tricked myself into believing he was really still out there when I knew. I fucking knew he wasn’t.” My breathing halts as the horrible moment I took his life takes over and the ugly truth spills from my lips.

“Kenzie, listen to what you’re saying.” He takes the last step to me, our eyes connecting as we come chest to chest.

“I did it, Beau. I killed him. It was me or him.” My mind starts to slip into the darkness. The truth is just too much for me. I close my eyes and try to breathe through it, but it feels as if a weight has been dropped on my chest, turning my once strong breaths into short, shallow blasts of air.