I was a weak man. Just as bad as the rest of them, ruled by his cock and not by his brain. I turned away from Rosie and zipped up my jeans, fire brewing in my belly. We shouldn’t have fucked. I’d seen the look in her eyes after she’d come around my cock. She was falling for me, and goddamn it, I was falling for her, too.

“You keep saying that,” she said, jumping off the countertop and trailing after me. “That I don’t know who you are.”

I ground my teeth together and cursed under my breath. I never should have said that. But every time she said my fake name, a river of anger rushed through me. Every touch I gave her felt like a lie.

“You don’t know me,” I said again. “How could you? We only met a week ago.”

“Then, why don’t you tell me who you are?” she asked, stopping in front of me with her petite little hands curled into fists.

Her eyes danced with something fierce and strong, and her entire face was flushed from our earlier sex. She looked so beautiful standing there in front of me, begging to know me for who I really was, that it only made my heart rip in two. I could never tell Rosie the truth.

And I was starting to realize she was the first woman I’d ever had the desire to tell.

I turned my back to her and angled toward the door outside. “I’ll go into town now to get some supplies.”

“You’re actually going to leave me alone?” Her voice cracked on the last word, but I steeled my resolve. She’d be fine here. I needed to get myself out of this cabin for a deep breath of fresh air, clear my mind and remind myself of who I was and what I had to do. Get the mission done and get out. Just like always.

“This is the safest place you could be, Rosie, and you know it,” I said without turning around. I couldn’t bear to look at her face. Her eyes were probably welling with tears, and there was no way I could fight against that right now. “You want me to get Owen? Then I need some supplies. I’ll be back in an hour.”

My boots were heavy against the wood floor as I made my way out of the cabin. When the screen door screeched open, I took in a deep breath of fresh mountain air. The clouds overhead rumbled. Another storm was rolling in, and the heavy air accentuated the crisp leaves and dirt that surrounded the house.

In another life, I could have lived somewhere like this. The wilderness, nature, a good woman. But this wasn’t my life, I reminded myself. I was only passing through. I’d been dealt a shit hand, and I’d never have something like this.

Inside the cabin, I heard Rosie sniffle. My heart wrenched inside me, but I forced myself down the front steps. She would be safe here, I repeated over and over in my head. But it wasn’t her safety that was the issue. It was her fucking heart.

* * *

Town was a tourist trap of a place, but with the skies opening up, the rain had driven everyone inside. I sloshed down a street lined with shop after shop hocking one-of-a-kind figurines and high-priced decorations. After several blocks, I found a shop selling rifles, camo gear, and tasers.

A young woman, maybe in her early twenties, glanced up from behind the counter and widened her eyes at the sight of me. Paranoia slithered in my gut, but I tried to squelch it down. She didn’t recognize me. There was no way she could. It was just the usual reaction I got from people. I was tall, big, and covered in tattoos. And soaking wet.

I shook my head and edged into the store, my eyes scanning the offerings on display. There wasn’t anything like what I’d had access to when I was part of the FBI, but the measly offerings would have to do. To do this right, I needed some protection.

Rosie needed it, too.

My skin prickled.

Something felt wrong. Something felt off. It was too still in here. Too quiet. Behind the counter, a tiny television droned on and on, the only sound in the tiny store. The woman’s hands trembled as she fiddled with some papers, and I frowned. My gaze flicked to her face. She wouldn’t meet my eyes, and her skin was pale.

Words from the television cut through my thoughts. “Garrett Butler is a dangerous man. He’s wanted in connection to the murder of several individuals we are unable to name at this time.”

My head swivelled to the TV. There, on the grainy screen, an old image of my previous identity was plastered for all the world to see. My entire body tensed, and I sucked a breath of air through my nostrils, slow and steady.

I needed to stay calm. This didn’t matter. Garrett Butler had been one of my previous identities, and I hadn’t been known as that in years. When I’d first gone on the run, the news had been overrun by these images. It wasn’t anything new. I should have known this would happen again now that they had a lead on my location.

The man in that picture didn’t even look like me anymore.

“At the present time, authorities believe that Garrett Butler is going by another name and has made slight alternations to his appearance. A witness has provided a sketch for comparison.”

A black and white drawing smacked up on the screen right by the old photo of me. Unease and fear skittered along my skin. The drawing matched me perfectly. Whoever this witness was had made the connection, and the FBI knew exactly what I looked like now.

And so did everyone else in the world.

Fuck. I needed to get out of here.

I began to back away toward the door.

“That’s you, isn’t it?” The woman’s voice wobbled as she pointed up at the television.

Fuck.

I stared hard at her. She was so young. So stupid. If I were anyone else, she’d be dead in a heartbeat. Realization dawned on her face, and she widened her eyes, slowly backing up until she smacked into the rack of ammo behind her.

“Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I won’t call the cops. I promise.” Her voice shook hard, her eyes darted around her. No one else was in the shop but us.

And she was lying her goddamn ass off. I could read it in the way her veins thrummed in her neck. She’d call the cops just as soon as I walked out that door, and the FBI would swoop in on this place faster than I could blink. Rosie would be taken back to witness protection, and her son would be stuck with Scooter Stone until the agency finally made a move. And that could take years.

I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath. What the fuck was I going to do now?