Allegra heard Phoenix’s laughter and words all the way back to her apartment. That almost maniacal laughter when his brother had asked him if he was seeing anyone.
Are you serious?
He didn’t know the back door hadn’t closed all the way. He didn’t know she could hear everything.
She didn’t know he was going to keep her a secret forever. She didn’t know why he wouldn’t tell his best friend and brother about her. She didn’t know why she had to keep hiding whenever Jon came over.
Sure, it had been fun at first. She loved the cabin in the woods, and she was starting to love the man who lived in it. But he hadn’t changed all that much from the stubborn lumberjack who had called the forest rangers on her.
He’d never mentioned coming into town to see her, and the man didn’t even own a car. She always had to go to him, and he seemed…embarrassed to be with her. Or at least to let anyone else know they were together.
Allegra shook her head as she drove, wishing she wasn’t so confused by Phoenix.
“Message from Phoenix Addler,” her car said. She glanced at the screen and saw What does that mean?
“It means—” She didn’t know what it meant. She just knew her chest had pinched and constricted when he’d laughed about seeing someone. Had he been playing her all this time?
That thought felt false, but she didn’t know why else he wouldn’t just put his arm around her and say, “Jon, this is my girlfriend, Allegra Wright.”
The radio stopped playing, and she glanced at the screen to see a call was coming in.
Phoenix.
She might as well talk to him, so she pressed the phone button on the screen and said, “Hey.”
“Why’d you go?” he asked.
“Because you’re not seeing anyone,” she said, the words just bursting from her mouth. “And I’m tired of being a secret houseguest who doesn’t even get to stay inside when someone else comes over. I’m tired of driving thirty minutes out here to see you, only to be shoved out the back door when your brother shows up.”
Her chest heaved, and her whole head felt too hot. So many more thoughts streamed through her mind, but they felt plugged up, unable to come out.
Phoenix said nothing, and that only added flames to the inferno already raging in Allegra’s bloodstream.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I have a ton of stuff to research tonight anyway, and your Internet is unstable.”
“That’s not true,” he said quietly.
“Yeah, well, I feel unstable,” she said. “And I’d rather not talk to you when I’m so angry. It never ends well.” She didn’t wait for him to respond. He didn’t get to have the control, and she hung up with the jab of her finger against the screen.
If only that could help her feel better.
Of course it didn’t, and her anger seethed and simmered all the way back into Forbidden Lake. He’d talked about the cherry trees, and the blossoms, and the amazing beachfront property his family owned. He couldn’t wait to share everything about the orchards, and the cabins, and the lake with her.
She wanted to ask him now how he’d planned to do that—how he could take her in public—without anyone else seeing. Would he claim her as his?
Tears pricked her eyes, because she wanted him to claim her as his. She wanted to be his.
She drove with half-blurry vision back to her apartment, wishing she’d been brave enough to stay and talk things through with Phoenix. Weeks ago, after the hearing, she’d done that even when he’d tried to walk away from her.
And it had been hard, and she’d thought for sure it wouldn’t end well. But it had.
She parked in her appointed spot at her building and started for the front door. Through her distress, she didn’t see the other person until she ran into them.
“Sorry,” she said, glancing up—right into the face of Devon McKnight. Fear iced her insides, and she tried to step back. He grabbed her arm, making it impossible for her to go very far.
He was definitely within two hundred yards of her. And her building, her car, all of it.
“I’m going to call the police,” she said, wishing her voice didn’t shake quite so much. She thumbed on her phone, never taking her eyes from his. Phoenix’s name sat on the screen, as she’d just finished talking to him, and she tapped the phone icon, desperately hoping it would dial him back.
“You’re not going to call the police,” Devon hissed into her ear, the sweet scent of his breath making her sick. “Now be a good girl, and let’s get in the car.”
“No way,” Allegra said. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” She kicked out, a scream forming in the back of her throat. Just before she let it loose, she heard the tinny, far-away sound of Phoenix’s voice say, “Hello?”
She wrenched her arm away from Devon as he moved to cover her mouth with his hand. Panicked and not thinking clearly, she scrambled for the door to the building. If she could get the code in and get inside, she’d be able to call the police. Get help.
Allegra had only taken two steps when Devon rammed into her from behind. They both fell down, her phone went skidding out of her reach, and she groaned and cried out at the same time pain exploded through her hands and knees. “Get off me,” she yelled. “You’re violating the restraining order.”
Devon picked her up while she flailed, grunting with the effort. He said nothing, and Allegra felt powerless against his muscles, his height, his determination to get her away from the building and into the car.
“Help me!” she screamed. “Help! Someone, help!”
“Stop it,” Devon said, almost under his breath as if he was afraid someone would hear him when they obviously couldn’t hear her. He opened the passenger door of her coupe and tried to put her inside.
“No,” she said against his strength. “Devon, stop this. It’s madness.” For the first time in her life, she was extremely glad for a small car, as she could easily grab onto the roof and sides of the vehicle and refuse to go in. Her fingers scrabbled around for something to grip, and she felt like she was losing an important battle. If only she wasn’t so short, and if she weighed a hundred pounds more, then maybe she could refuse.
“Devon, please,” she tried next, and still he tried to stuff her in the car. Every time he got in one limb and went to work on another, she wiggled back out of the car. Crying now, she strained against him until she felt something pop in her shoulder. A new wave of pain hit her, and she stopped struggling, instinctively curling her arm into her body for protection.
Her head swam with the pain, not only from her arm, but her hands, her knees, her back where his elbows had hit. Adrenaline buzzed in her brain, lighting her thoughts on fire. You have to get away. Go. Run.
“Help,” she said again, realizing Devon was now putting her feet in the car. No, her mind screamed as darkness started to blanket her.
No.
When Allegra woke, a dull ache existed in her jaw, behind her eyes, and throbbed through the base of her neck. It was dark, without any discernible light to illuminate any features in the room. She only knew it was a room, because it wasn’t freezing. And April nights in Michigan were still chilly.
She strained to hear something, but it was deathly still and silent. She didn’t dare use her voice to call for help, because right now, she was alone and alive, and Devon didn’t need to know she’d awakened.
The urge to find her phone scratched at her, but when she tried to remember where she’d had it last, she came up empty. Blank.
Allegra tried to roll over, but white-hot pain screamed through her shoulder, and she feared she’d dislocated it.
Like a flash of lightning, she remembered everything—including that her phone had gone skidding across the parking lot when Devon had tackled her. How had he done that and dragged her to her car without anyone seeing?
Had her phone call to Phoenix gone through?
Hello?
Yes, she’d heard his voice come through the line just before she’d screamed. So he’d come for her. He’d find her, and he’d rescue her, and she’d never leave the safety and sanctuary of his cabin again.
Somewhere beyond the door of the room, a floorboard creaked. Allegra closed her eyes and tried to make her breathing as even as possible, as if she were still asleep. She needed to give Phoenix as much time as possible to find her, needed to play whatever role Devon wanted her to, needed a few more minutes of rational thought before she had to truly show she was awake.
So even when the swath of light cut across the room and she could’ve started searching for items that would help her escape, she kept her eyes closed and her breathing slow, slow, slow.
She didn’t flinch when Devon traced his fingertips along her forehead and whispered, “That’s a good girl, Allegra. Sleep until morning. I’ll be back then.”
Anger simmered in her blood when he pressed his fish lips to her forehead, and relief came quickly when he retreated, covering her in blackness again and locking the door behind him.
Didn’t matter. He wouldn’t be back until morning, and that meant Allegra had some time to set a trap before he returned.
She forced herself to wait until she was sure several minutes had passed. Then she moved into a sitting position slowly, only inches at a time to ensure she made no noise and that her body didn’t react too violently.
Now she just needed to make a plan. Phoenix would be so proud, she thought, and her heart pumped out an extra beat.
“Please hurry,” she whispered into the darkness. “Please, Phoenix, find me quickly.”