Walking along the beach with my feet in the sand was like heaven on earth. Even if Dominic and his demons somehow found me right now, at least I would always have these moments on the beach. They would never be able to take that away.

The walk was over much too soon, though, and I stood staring at my wreck of a car. It did not look good.

The entire front end of the small Honda was smashed against the tree. I got in and tried the key, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. There was definitely no way I was driving it out of here, but that brought up a whole mess of problems.

First of all, this was a stolen car.

There was no way Dominic would have ever let me have a car of my own, so when I’d finally gotten free of the casino, I’d gone as far as I could on foot, trying to get off the main strip to where things were a little quieter. And a little darker.

When I reached a parking lot in front of a local restaurant, I’d walked up to the first car I saw, used my magic to unlock the doors, and got the hell out of town. Looking at the car now, I felt kind of bad for the person I’d taken it from. I wasn’t a thief, normally, but sometimes desperate times called for desperate measures.

I had no doubt there was some kind of police bulletin out for this car, though. I’d kept a fresh glamour on the plate every day so far, but if it was stuck inside a repair shop for a week, the glamour would definitely wear off.

All it would take is someone running the plates to find out that it was stolen. That would be the end of me. They’d likely arrest me and have me transported back to Vegas. And in Vegas, Dominic was king. He knew all the cops there, and they wouldn’t hesitate to hand me over. No doubt, they’d receive a nice payday for it, too.

Nik was hovering over the car, so I didn’t want to try my magic to see if I could get it to start, but I was tempted to risk it, anyway. If I could get it started before his mechanic friend got here, maybe I could drive it out of town, renew the glamour of the license plate, and stop at the next town when I ran out of gas. I could find a job there.

But the truth was I liked Willow Harbor already. I hadn’t even seen the town itself yet, but there was something that felt right about this place.

Okay, so I couldn’t deny the fact that I was intensely attracted to this Nik guy, too, which was something new and different for me. I was used to despising most of the men in my presence, but Nik was special. He was gorgeous, sure, but I couldn’t help but feel there was more to it than that.

I’d been half-asleep last night, pushing myself beyond the limit of exhaustion, but somehow, I’d managed to end up here, safe and alive, with Nik standing over me.

Despite the voice of my mother inside my head, telling me to keep running, I wanted to stay.

Just for a couple days.

What could be the harm in that?

“It won’t start?” Nik asked.

“No luck,” I said, climbing out of the car.

“Mind if I give it a shot?” he asked.

“Be my guest.”

I handed him the keys and while he sat in the driver’s seat trying to get the car started, I walked around back and placed my hand on the license plate. I closed my eyes and connected to the power that flowed through me. I pushed a little extra power into the spell this time, hoping that would help it stay for a few days.

Nik got out of the car and shook his head. “Yeah, it seems to be in pretty bad shape,” he said. “But here comes Brandon.”

He motioned toward the gravel path, where a large tow truck was just coming around the bend in the road.

A tall man with a thick, black beard got out of the truck and shook Nik’s hand. Then, he extended his hand to me. “You must be Eva,” he said. “I’m Brandon Lowe.”

I shook his hand, which was abnormally warm and as big as a bear’s. “Hi, Brandon,” I said. “Thanks for coming to help.”

“What exactly happened here?” he asked, taking off his hat and crouching down to look at the front end of the car. “Did an animal scare you off the road?”

“I fell asleep behind the wheel,” I said. “Do you think there’s any hope of repairing it?”

He grimaced and stood, shaking his head. “I’ll have to get it back to the shop to know for sure,” he said. “Hope you weren’t planning on going anywhere for a while.”

“Apparently not,” I said, laughing.

Nik stepped forward. “I hate to run like this, but I’ve got something I need to do,” he said and looked at me. “You’ll be okay?”

“I think I’ve got it from here, thank you,” I said, surprised at the disappointment I felt when he said he had to go. “I’ll see you around?”

He nodded. “I don’t know what your plans are for later, but if you stop by Drifter’s after seven or so, I should be around,” he said. He waved to Brandon. “Thanks for coming, man.”

“Not a problem,” Brandon said as he started to work on hooking the car up to the tow truck.

I watched as Nik took off toward the docks nearby. On our walk down here, he’d told me that this area was called Fisherman’s Bay, where all the shrimp and fishing boats in Willow Harbor brought their daily catch.

Restaurants and locals came here in the mornings to shop for fresh seafood straight from the boats, and it was definitely a busy spot this morning compared to how deserted it had been last night.

Nik stopped and said hello to a few men on the docks before stepping into a boat and untying the ropes that held it there. He moved with the precision and speed of a man who’d been doing those same motions over and over for years. There was a simple elegance to the way he moved that made it difficult for me to tear my eyes away from him.

He’d taken his jacket off and was wearing a simple black t-shirt. His arms were strong, his muscles pushing against his sleeves as he worked.

He glanced back toward me as he started the boat’s engine and waved. I waved back, a warmth starting deep inside and crawling all the way up my neck as I watched him leave.

Reluctantly, I turned back to Brandon, who was just finishing up with the car.

“So, about payment,” I started, but Brandon waved me off.

“Don’t worry about that until we know how bad the damage is,” he said. “I should be able to give you a good estimate of the repairs by tomorrow morning. If you want to give me your cell number, I’ll call you as soon as I know something. I won’t start the work until I have your approval on the estimate. No charge on the tow.”

Gosh, I knew Nik had said not everyone in town was nice to strangers, but so far, this was the nicest place I’d ever been to in my life. Not charging to tow my car was unheard of. Of course, I’d never been to the south before, so maybe it was just a different world out here.

One I could get used to if I had the luxury of true freedom. Which I didn’t.

“Thank you,” I said. “I don’t have a cell, though, so maybe just tell me where you’re located, and I’ll come by?”

“That’ll work,” Brandon said. “I’m a couple blocks off main street. Just find the willow tree and start walking in the opposite direction of the beach. You’ll find us. Black Bear Auto Repair.”

“Catchy,” I said smiling.

A hint of a blush crept up Brandon’s neck, and he smiled back. For a big guy, he was a real sweetheart. I liked him already.

“Thanks,” he said. “Kind of a family business. I run it with my four brothers, but it was my dad and his older brother who started the business years ago.”

“Wow, you have four brothers, and you guys all work together?” I asked. “Peacefully?”

“Sometimes,” he said with a laugh. “We have our arguments, I suppose, but family’s family. How about you? You got family around here?”

I shook my head, trying to keep the sadness out of my eyes. I didn’t need people asking too many questions.

“No, not around here,” I said.

Or anywhere.

He nodded, but studied me. “So, what brought you to Willow Harbor?”

“That seems to be a popular question,” I said. “I imagine the same thing that brings anyone to a beach town, right? Sun, sand, seafood.”

He didn’t look convinced. In fact, he looked suspicious.

“We don’t get a lot of visitors just passing through,” he said. “Are you here on vacation?”

Nik had said something similar, which had surprised me. What kind of beach town was this?

“To be honest, I just wanted to make my way to the ocean,” I said. “I’ve always wanted to see it, and I was heading this way, so I just pointed my car east and drove until I found it. I guess ending up in Willow Harbor was just luck.”

He smiled, something knowing in his eyes. “Maybe more like fate,” he said. “Or at least that’s the way it usually happens. Well, I need to get this car to the shop. Stop by tomorrow sometime, and I’ll give you an estimate on the repairs.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” I said.

He glanced around. “Do you need me to drop you off somewhere?” he asked. “I can give you a ride into town if you need it.”

“No, I’m fine,” I said. “I’m looking forward to spending a little bit of time on the beach, but I appreciate it.”

“You’re most welcome, Miss Eva,” he said. “See you around.”

He drove off, taking my mess of a stolen car with him.

Alone, I walked back to the beach and let my toes sink into the sand. A couple of fisherman on the docks waved to me, and I waved back, smiling.

What a strange town this was. Everyone had been so friendly, but at the same time, they all seemed to be suspicious about what I was doing here. Maybe I was just overthinking it, but there was definitely something different about this town.

I started walking away from the docks, heading back toward Drifter’s. The closer I got, the more of Willow Harbor I could see now by the light of day. A long boardwalk stretched out along the beach with small shops overlooking the ocean.

I passed Drifter’s bar and stepped onto the boardwalk toward town. Families walked together, and the sound of children's’ laughter rang through the air. A beautiful white-sand beach was dotted with blankets as people sat together watching the tide go out.

A long, wooden pier extended out over the ocean, and a few casual fisherman had taken up seats on benches with their poles in the water.

As the morning went on, it warmed up a little, but as I walked closer to town, my arms erupted in goosebumps. Yes, there was definitely something about this place. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

I just had to hope someone around here needed help doing something. If only I had something to sell...

I rubbed my arms to warm them, and my fingers brushed against the emerald bracelet I wore on my left arm. My gut twisted.

I hadn’t considered my bracelet. I never took it off, and it was the most precious thing in the world to me.

It would break my heart to let it go, but what choice did I have? I couldn’t very well crash in Nik’s room for two weeks. I wasn’t even sure where he had slept last night, but I could assume it wasn’t very comfortable, wherever it was.

Besides, for all his talk of not wanting anything from me, no guy in the world was going to give up his own bed for a week without expecting something in return.

And I couldn’t get my car fixed without cash, either. Without a car, I was sitting duck. If I stayed in one place, Dominic was bound to find me, but I couldn’t justify stealing another car. Not from a town like this, where everyone had been so nice to me.

I bit my lower lip and slid the bracelet off my wrist. It was the first time I had taken it off since the day my mother died trying to save my life. It was all I had left of her, but she had always taught me to be a survivor. To never give up, no matter what the sacrifice.

I held back tears, straightened my shoulders, and started walking again, determined to find a place that would give me a fair price for my mother’s bracelet.