Jace drove her back to his place. They’d fetch her car later. There was no way she was driving after the way she’d spent her afternoon. The near miss at the cliff had sobered her up enough that they could talk, but not enough for her to get behind the wheel. He was thankful she didn’t fight him on that, too. At least sense won out over sheer stubbornness. He’d found most of a ten dollar bottle of whiskey lying nearby on the ground. It wouldn’t be enough to make him wobble, but she was so damn tiny.

Damn, what was she hiding? Was she ashamed of whatever it was? No, it wasn’t shame he saw whenever he started getting close to her. No, that was outright fear.

He’d let her keep her secret for the time being They both knew she was lying, but it wouldn’t do him or the situation any good to point it out. Whatever she was hiding wasn’t something small. No, a big fucking bomb had gone off somewhere in her life. It was the only reason she’d end up with her entire life bundled into the back of a car that was ready to fall apart itself. The only reason she’d be hiding out in the middle of nowhere, refusing to talk to anyone. Something had forced her to leave home—leave the entire city. If her parents had just kicked her out, there likely would have been any number of friends who could have taken her in, or even a cheap motel. That was one thing she didn’t need to drive for hours to find.

He could help, if she’d only open up to him. He had a large bank account, and an even larger gun cabinet. Whatever fucked-up mess she was in, he’d help her out of it, whether she wanted him to or not. His instincts were sharp, always had been, and the whole situation was screaming at him. She couldn’t even keep herself safe in the middle of the restaurant. He’d been ready to kill the trucker for daring to lay a hand on her, and now he found her wandering about the countryside, nearly walking off a goddamn cliff!

He just had to work out how to get her to talk. She was under siege, from both inside and out. Sienna was smart, but she trusted no one. He was just going to have to change that.

“Come on inside.” He ushered her in, pulling her through the door with an arm around her waist. She was still shaking a little, so he tried to distract her by giving her a tour, ending at the back porch, where they sat down. By then, her hands had stopped trembling and a little color had returned to her face. “Do you like it?” he asked.

“Yeah. It’s different than I expected.”

He grinned. “What did you expect? A fifth-wheel and an outhouse?”

She swatted his arm. Ahh, so that was the trick to get her to talk. “No,” she said. “I just mean—I didn’t even know there were houses out here, much less something like this.”

Her gaze took in the landscape in front of her. The view still made him smile every morning, and so for a city girl, it was probably pretty amazing. He hadn’t built a full barn yet—a massive structure that would hold more than a hundred head of cattle—but he was still proud of his place. Set on a decent acreage, the main home fitted perfectly into the landscape, with bricks that looked hand-placed, and a dusty red tiled roof. Elsewhere on the sprawling grounds was a small guest house made from old-fashioned timber. It had likely been the original residence on the property, and he planned on keeping it around—for history’s sake, and if any of his friends or family from home ever decided to forgive him for whatever sins they deemed he’d committed and finally come visit. He’d modernized it inside, but the outside of the cottage still looked like the day it had been raised. “We’re not all country hicks, you know,” he said, chuckling. “I have some style.”

“It’s not bad.” She stole a look at him then turned back to the vista before her. “A lot of work though, I bet.”

“I love it, though. I might be exhausted when I get to the end of the day, but the work keeps me alive. It clears my head.” Jace watched Sienna stare out to the mountains. “What do you do when you need a break from everything? Besides nearly walk off cliffs?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Sometimes, I think there’s nothing you can do.”

“I don’t believe that.” He reached over, resting his hand lightly on top of hers. “Sometimes the biggest battles are the ones we fight inside ourselves. What happened to make you end up here?” She stilled, waiting a moment before sliding her hand out and placing it in her lap. “Something happened, Sienna, something you won’t tell anyone. Maybe you think you can just bottle it all up and it will all go away, but life doesn’t work like that.”

“My mother died.”

Fuck. The haunted looks, quiet reflections when she thought no one was looking. He should have known. She was grieving.

Sienna let her tears fall freely, her emotions almost unstopped now that he’d uncorked the bottle. “Her fingers were all twisted and she had cuts all over her body, like someone had tortured her. I have no idea why.”

She was lying again, but right then he didn’t care. All Jace wanted to do was wrap her in his arms and hold her, to wipe away her tears and protect her so she’d never have to cry another one in her life. But he didn’t want her to run again, and she was on the edge of her seat already, like a scared doe that would easily startle. He picked up her hand instead, wrapping his fingers around hers when she didn’t resist.

“My mom was my world, my best friend, and the most amazing person. We didn’t always see eye to eye as I got older, but she would have done anything for me. She was always worried—giving me advice and telling me when I was heading down the wrong path.” She paused and shifted in her seat, but he refused to let go of her hand, squeezing tighter. “The night she died, we got into a fight. She didn’t like a guy I was dating. I just thought she was being too clingy again, wanting me to stay home with her, and so I stormed off to a party. That night I walked in on him fucking another girl and so I left the party early.” She hiccupped, before taking a deep breath and talking again. “I got home and found my mom. Sh—she’d been tortured. Her fingers were all twisted and her body was covered in cuts.”

Holy shit. Had Sienna actually witnessed her mom’s murder? It would certainly explain more than a few things. Jace looked skyward, silently looking for strength of his own, while still gripping tightly onto her hand. To lose a parent at such a young age would be hard enough. To actually find the body, or maybe even worse? He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let her go again.

“I never got to apologize for the fight. I . . . ” She broke down again and this time, there was nothing that was going to stop him gathering her up and holding her close. Sienna wept in his arms, shuddering in his embrace as emotions that she’d likely kept bottled up for weeks poured out. Finally she quieted, taking gulping breaths of air, her cheeks wet against his shirt. Then she spoke again, so quietly he wasn’t sure he’d even heard correctly. “She was my best friend, but now I wonder if I even knew her.”

What? “Sienna? What do you mean?” He wiped this thumbs across her cheeks, but more tears trickled down to replace those he wiped away. “You can’t keep carrying whatever this is alone. It’s going to destroy you.”

She pulled back, and the moment was broken again. Sienna shook her head, wrenching herself out his arms. “I can’t do this. I can’t be around anyone. Crap! I shouldn’t have even said anything. Forget it all, please.”

“For God’s sake, why?” He reached for her, but she jerked back.

“I should get going.”

“Sienna, please. Don’t just shut me out.”

For just a moment, a pained look crossed her face, before her expression hardened. “I don’t have any other choice.”

“Yes, you do. You can stay here with me.”

“No. I’m . . . I’m just tired, Jace. I need to go.”

“You’re in trouble. I know you’re in trouble, but Jesus Christ, I can help you. I meant that. What happened to your mom, Sienna? Are you in danger, too?”

“No.” She swallowed hard, looking away.

“You’re lying.”

“No!”

“Please.” Jace took a step toward her. She didn’t step away, but her arms stayed by her side, her gaze on the floor.

“Just take me back to my car, Jace. That’s how you can help me.”

He could push some more, insist he wasn’t taking her home until she told him the truth, but what good would that do? She’d just push back harder, maybe even disappear entirely and he’d never see her again. She might not be telling him the whole truth yet, but she was talking. It was progress from dumping his drink over his head just a few days ago.

God, she was strong, so strong. She’d walked in on her mother’s corpse, found her tortured and beaten, and she was still fighting. Anyone who could do that was extraordinary. She might be small, but she was the strongest person he knew. But even if she could stand against the storm tearing its way through her world, she wouldn’t be able to stand against a killer if he came for her. That required a different type of strength, one he could offer.

Sienna needed protection, and before she’d let him do that for her, she’d have to trust him. Looked like he’d be eating at the diner three times a day for a while longer.