Sophia sat at her dining room table, fiddling with a mug of hot coffee in front of her. They’d concluded that going back to her house would be best and had ridden the entire way in silence. Now that they were settled in, she was waiting for James to speak.

He cleared his throat as he stroked his beard. She raised her gaze up to meet his. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that he was just going to lie to her again. But she was hanging onto the hope that he’d at least try to rebuild some trust.

“Back in college, when I doing my undergrad, a friend and I got involved in some”—he squinted as he shifted in his seat—“illegal activity.”

Sophia raised her eyebrows. What did that mean?

“We opened an underground betting ring. Sort of a bookie-type situation. We took bets on just about anything. And we were good. Money started coming in.” He lifted his mug of coffee and took a sip.

“After undergrad, we moved to graduate school, where I met your mother. I was interested in keeping our betting ring open, but I wanted to remain small. Spencer, my roommate, wanted more.”

James winced as he continued. “Spence wasn’t satisfied and went off looking for more ventures. We were both smart, good with numbers. There had to be a job outside of the nine-to-five grind that paid more than a starting CPA position at a firm.

“Spencer fell in with some unsavory people. And it got bad.” James closed his eyes. “He came to me, needing my help. I wanted to tell him no. I wanted to walk away. Your mother”—his voice cracked—“was pregnant with you. I was done. Finished.”

He sighed as he opened his eyes and met her gaze. “Every moment of every day, I wish that I hadn’t gone with him that night.” He hesitated. “But I did. And it went bad. I found myself in the sights of some very bad people.”

He drummed the table with his fingers as he straightened. “They found out about you, about your mom. They knew that all they had to do was threaten your safety, and I would do whatever they asked.”

Sophia reached out and took a sip of her coffee. She was trying to digest what he was saying. Was it true? Maybe. Did she want it to be true? That thought caused her stomach to twist.

“You still could have walked away. You didn’t need to stay. It broke mom. It broke me.” She hated that her voice was breaking. That she was exposing her emotion to James. She didn’t want him to be able to use it against her.

James nodded as he ran his finger along the grain of the table. “Yes. I was going to. But Spencer beat me to it.” James closed his eyes. “As punishment, he had to watch his family be executed in front of him. And then he was killed too.” James’s voice drifted off as he stilled.

Sophia’s stomach plummeted. She studied him as the air grew silent. The weight of what he’d been carrying for so long settled around her. “What?” she whispered.

James opened his eyes and cleared his throat as he shifted on his seat. “Spencer and his family were killed because of his defection. When I saw that happen, I knew I’d put you and your mother and Benny in too much danger. It was better for me to go. Eventually, Georgie would forget you existed and you would stay safe.” He sighed, letting his breath out slowly. “That didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. But at the funeral, when you told me to leave and never come back, I was grateful. I didn’t want you to try to find me.”

Tears brimmed Sophia’s lids as she listened to his words. What kind of life was that to lead? Wanting to be with your family but not being able to? “So why did you come back?”

James glanced over at Noah—Sophia had almost forgotten he was in the room—and back to Sophia. “I was worried about you.”

She raised her eyebrows, wanting to ask more questions, but Noah spoke up.

“Your father was followed. We’re worried that Georgie might have caught on to who I work for. We need to get you somewhere safe.” He tapped the table. She could feel his nervous energy emanating from him.

“Somewhere safe? Like where?”

Noah glanced over at her. “We were thinking up in the woods.”

“How long? Is this like a permanent thing, or will I be able to come back? How long will these people be hunting me?”

Noah glanced over at James, and they exchanged a look. Frustration boiled up inside of Sophia. She was so tired of being the odd person out. They were planning something, and they were excluding her. She felt abandoned all over again, even though they were both standing right in front of her.

If Noah noticed her frustration, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he moved forward as if she hadn’t asked any questions. “Do you think Kari could plan a ‘kidnapping’ for you? She could take your out to a heavily populated area and then we’d pick you up and bring you with us.”

Sophia snorted. There were so many things she wanted to say to Noah right now, but she bit her tongue. If she was truly in danger, there probably wasn’t time. But the moment the coast was clear, Noah Elliot was going to get an earful.

So she forced her voice to sound calm and said, “Yeah, I’m sure Kari will jump at the opportunity to throw me a party. She’s pretty upset that I wouldn’t let her throw me a bachelorette party.”

Noah nodded. “Great. Let’s get this started then.”

After a brief conversation with Kari—that involved tons of screaming—Sophia announced that the party was on. Noah didn’t seem interested in chatting with her. Every time Sophia looked over at him, he made a point to busy himself with something, even if it was as meaningless as picking lint from his shirt.

Instead of just standing around her house, looking like an idiot, she marched into her room proclaiming that she needed to pack. That was partly true, but mostly, she wanted to get away from Noah. How had things changed so quickly between them?

How had they gone from engaged to this…nothingingness? This crazy, lonely place, where the secrets between them were as isolating as fog after a warm summer’s day.

Was this it? Was this the end? She shook her head as she grabbed her suitcase from the closet and set it on her bed. She wasn’t going to let herself cry over him yet again. Over her lifetime, she’d cried too many tears for Noah, and she was tired of it. If he was going to keep things quiet, then so was she.

Determination to be strong rose up inside her as she shoved her clothes into the suitcase. After this, she was leaving this town. It was time she started a new life for herself. She needed to get away from James and from Noah. They didn’t deserve to be a part of her life anymore.

She was done living in the past. Hoping that, somehow, she could change it. She needed to decide right now if that was how she was going to keep living her life.

She hesitated as she took a moment to stare at her reflection in the mirror.

“You can do this,” she whispered under her breath. She squared her jaw and narrowed her eyes. Sure, it wasn’t a look that was going to scare anyone, but for the first time in a long time, she felt strong.

She was no longer going to be a product of her past. She was going to stand up and speak for herself. Have a voice against those who hurt her.

Feeling more confident, Sophia turned back to her suitcase and zipped it up. After getting her toiletries from the bathroom, she slung her bag over her shoulder and wheeled out her luggage. Noah was leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms folded, and James immediately stopped talking once she entered.

They straightened and looked over at her. “You ready?” Noah asked.

Sophia nodded. “Yes,” she said with the most confident voice she could muster.

Noah studied her and then glanced down at his watch. “Kari should be here any minute.” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Let’s go over the plan one more time.”

Sophia sighed. “Kari’s going to take me to the engagement party at Summits. I’ll dance around in the crowd. After a few minutes, I’ll make my way to the bathroom, slip out the back, and meet up with you.”

“And Kari—” Noah started.

“And Kari will find someone who has the same hair color as me and keep talking to her like it is me.” Sophia finished. She glanced over at Noah. He’d grown quiet, as if he was examining her words.

“You’ll do great,” James said.

Noah didn’t look as confident as James sounded, but Sophia didn’t care. It wasn’t about pleasing either of them. It was about cleaning up this mess that James had made—and coming out of this alive—and then leaving. Walking away and not looking back.

“Great,” Sophia said just as the doorbell rang. She nodded to both men and then made her way to the front of the house.

Kari’s eyes widened as she took in Sophia’s clothing.

“That’s what you’re going clubbing in?” she asked, stepping to the side to let Sophia pass by.

“I’m not really going for the party,” Sophia said. She’d told Kari that Noah’s crazy ex-girlfriend was making threats against her. That’s how she explained the suitcase, the non-party, and the quick getaway she was going to need to make.

Kari took the bait, hook, line and sinker. Sophia hated that she had to lie to Kari, but if what James was saying was true, she didn’t want to endanger Kari’s life as well.

Sophia climbed into the car as Kari headed over to the driver’s side and started the car. Kari immediately started talking about work, her husband, and the party. Sophia settled back in the seat, letting the familiar sound of Kari’s voice wash over her. It felt good to cling to something familiar when everything around her was so disorienting.

Noah was like a completely different person. James? Well, she didn’t really know him enough to know if he was acting weird. Plus, she needed to prepare herself for a different life once this was all over. One without the black cloud of history hanging over her. And right now, that thought made her feel happy.

Well, as happy as she could be without the man she loved in her life. But what else could she do? Noah wasn’t talking to her. He was shut up tighter than a clam. One thing she was certain of, once he got like this, leaving was his next step.

This time, she wasn’t going to be the one left behind. This time, she’d be the one doing the leaving.