At two o clock, I give up on sleep altogether. After a shower and two more cups of coffee, I dress and have a quick breakfast, prepared to start my day. There is always something to do at the bakery, and when I’m anxious, it helps me to create beautiful treats.

I disarm the alarm system and peek out the front door, only to find Gunner’s truck sitting at the far end of my driveway. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s been there all night, and I wonder if he’s even slept. I wonder how long things will continue this way. If he’ll stay there every night until one night, he just doesn’t come. And I think that would hurt worse than anything.

I’m not strong enough to have a confrontation with him right now because realistically, I know I won’t be able to turn him away again. With that in mind, I shut the front door and head for the back door instead. My car is parked along the side of the house, and if I take the old dirt road that runs through the field, I can avoid seeing Gunner altogether.

At least, that’s the plan until I open the back door and find Brad standing there. Before I can even blink or scream, he pushes me, shoving me back inside the house.

Waves of nausea crash over me as my brain catches up to what’s happening. Brad is inside my house, and he looks crazy. He’s been watching me, waiting for who knows how long. And that single two-minute window that I’d disarmed the alarm is when he decided to show up. It can’t be a coincidence. He must have known. He must have been waiting here all night for me to get up.

“Brad, please—” I edge backward with small, steady movements, hoping to put some distance between us.

“Don’t.” He glares. “I don’t want to hurt you, Allie. But you won’t listen to me. You just keep ignoring me. This is the only way.”

His voice grows more frantic as he speaks, and I’m trying to figure out what to do. Gunner is so close yet so far away. He can’t see the back of the house from where his truck is. Brad must have come on foot, cutting through the field. I have the Mace and stun gun in my purse, but the chances of me reaching it before Brad does something crazy seems unlikely. He keeps putting his hand in his coat, and I don’t know if he has a weapon.

“Sit down.” He points at the couch. “We’re going to talk.”

I take a seat on the couch with shaky legs. At least for now, the safest bet seems to let him think I’m playing along. That I’ll do whatever he says. But then Brad sits down beside me, and I start to feel sick all over again.

“Tell me what you could possibly see in that guy,” he snarls. “What does he have that makes him so special, Allie?”

“We aren’t together.” I squeeze my hands together in my lap. “He’s just worried about me, that’s all.”

“No.” Brad shakes his head in disgust. “I saw you two together. I saw you in his truck. You kissed him.”

While he’s ranting, I try to work my fingers toward my purse, hoping he won’t notice. But then he turns his attention on me again, and I freeze.

“We’re just friends,” I insist.

“Don’t lie to me!” Brad lunges toward me, and I flinch, scrambling off the couch and trying to make a run for the door as I fumble around for the Mace.

He’s right behind me. I can hear his boots slapping against the floor as he closes the distance between us. Finally, I find the cylindrical can in the bottom of my bag and yank it free. Brad wraps a meaty hand around my arm, and when he spins me around, I aim the nozzle straight for his face and release a torrent of pepper spray.

His eyes widen before he doubles over, coughing and sputtering in a fit. Even though the smell burns my eyes and my nose, and he’s still trying to hold on to me, his grip has loosened enough that I can pull free. When I do, I bolt out the back door and drag my phone from my bag, desperately trying to call Gunner as I head for the driveway. But my fingers are shaking, and I keep pressing the wrong buttons, and nothing is working.

As it turns out, it doesn’t matter. Because when I look up, I see him coming for me. He’s already stomping down the driveway on foot. Tall and imposing and a real-life hero. He’s coming to save me.

“Gunner!” I scream out his name through sheer relief, but it only makes him move faster. It must be only a few seconds, but it feels like minutes when he finally swallows me in his arms.

“Tell me what happened, baby.”

“He… he’s in there.” I point at the house. “I pepper sprayed him.”

A spark of pride lights up Gunner’s eyes. “Good girl. I’ll handle it from here, Allie. I want you to go lock yourself in my truck and call the police. Do you understand?”

I shake my head and cling to him. “Please don’t go.”

Pain leeches into his features as he shakes his head. “I have to. We can’t let him get away this time. It’s the only way to make sure he pays for what he’s done.”

I still don’t want to let him go, but Gunner peels me off him and nods in the direction of his truck, stuffing his keys into my hand. “Go, Allie. Now.”

I move on autopilot, checking over my shoulder as I watch him disappear into the house. It only makes me move faster, dialing 911 with trembling fingers. I’m not even exactly sure what I tell the operator, but I know that I get the most important things out of the way—my address and Brad’s name.

It feels like forever passes as I sit in Gunner’s truck waiting for some sign that everything is okay. When the police finally arrive, I wave them down at the end of the driveway and give them a hurried version of what transpired. One officer waits with me while the others go on ahead, and terror fills my lungs with every breath I take while we wait.

“What’s happening?” I demand. “Why are they taking so long?”

The officer ignores me as he listens to the garble on his radio. I keep my eyes trained on the house where the police disappeared into minutes ago. Finally, after what feels like a century, I see their shadows moving around in the dim morning light. It’s difficult to make anything out from so far away, but I recognize Brad’s jacket as they lead him to one of the cars. He seems to be okay, which only makes me more anxious.

“Where’s Gunner?” I ask the officer.

He holds up his finger as he relays his own questions to the other officers through the radio. And that’s when I finally see him. My hero, my protector, being led from the house in handcuffs. Frustration bubbles up inside me, and before I can even give it a second thought, I’m racing back down the driveway toward him.

“Ma’am,” the officer calls out from behind me. “Stop! Wait!”

I don’t care what he says. I just have to get to Gunner. I keep moving.

“What are you doing?” I yell at the officers. “Why are you arresting him?”

“Ma’am, you need to calm down. It’s only temporary until we sort out this situation.”

“I’m not going to calm down.” I glare. “He was the one who saved me. He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Allie.” Gunner jerks his chin at me. “It’s okay. Just sit down and do what the officers say. It will all be all right in a few minutes.”

My limbs feel like jelly, and all the hot air deflates from my lungs as I listen to his soothing voice. I know he’s right, but I don’t want to wait. I need to tell him how wrong I was. How stupid I was. I need him to know that I never meant what I said.

“I have so much to say to you,” I tell him through bleary eyes.

Gunner tries to answer, but the officer cuts him off. “Allie, we need to speak to you separately. I need to hear your account of what happened.”

“Go.” Gunner nods when I look at him. “It will be okay. Just tell them what happened, baby.”

I hesitate for a second before it occurs to me that the sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can talk to Gunner and explain everything.

“Okay.” I look at the officer. “I’m ready.”