“This is stupid,” I whispered in the darkness before pulling back the curtain once more and looking down into the street.

There was nothing out there. Everything looked the same way that it had a few minutes ago when I’d peeked out. I couldn’t shake the sensation that someone was watching me, though, even if I couldn’t see them. Every flicker of light or reflection in the streetlamps caught my eye and made my heart race. Peyton still hadn’t come back. He hadn’t even called, and I was more than a little worried. No matter how hard I tried to tell myself that he was safe, I couldn’t seem to believe my own words.

When my phone rang, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I quickly answered it. “Mary, you scared the daylights out of me!”

“Sorry, I just wanted to see how you were feeling?”

“I’m fine,” I lied. “Just watching television and getting caught up on the books for the bakery.”

“You are supposed to be resting and nursing that heart of yours.”

“My heart is fine. How did closing the shop go? Everything okay?”

“Yep, nothing we haven’t done before. I was just going to see if you wanted us to stop over with a bottle of wine. Sometimes, the best medicine is a few friends, you know.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it, but not tonight,” I muttered.

The truth was that I didn’t want to pull her any further into the nightmare that had become my life. If I was being watched, I didn’t want them to see Mary coming over. She didn’t deserve to be a pawn in Collins’s sick game. He had enough of those, unfortunately. I had to keep my dark past separate from the life I’d built here. Plus, if I needed to pack up and leave, it would be better for everyone if I started cutting those ties now.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “You don’t seem like yourself lately.”

“I’m fine, Mary,” I said in a firm tone. “I really need to go. Thanks again for everything.”

I hung up on her before she could protect me anymore. When my phone rang for a second time, I was ready to put my foot down and be harder on her.

“Mary, I told you that I don’t want company right now,” I hissed.

“That is a good idea. You should be playing it safe right now,” Came Peyton’s smooth tone.

At once, my heart started to race. “Peyton,” I whispered. “I was so worried about you. Is everything okay? What happened? Is Collins gone?”

“Easy, darlin’, he said soothingly. “I’m doing just fine. Sorry I didn’t call earlier. Things took a bit longer than I thought. I’m still working on Collins, but don’t worry, we will take care of him soon.”

“What about Shannon?” I asked with a dry mouth. I was so worried about what was going to happen that I couldn’t control the shaking in my hands.

“I have her.”

The weight that was sitting on my chest lifted as I closed my eyes. Shannon was safe. My friend whom I’d believed was dead for so long was alive and well. “I have to see her!”

“Um,” he stammered, “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

“What? Why not?” I asked.

He cleared his throat, stalling for time. “Shannon isn’t the same as she was, honey.”

“What?” I whispered. “Peyton, if she hates me, if she doesn’t want to see me, then please just tell me so, okay? I’m just happy she is safe.”

Even as I said the words, my heart sank. It made sense. I had been the one to leave her behind. It was my fault that she’d been stuck with Collins for so many years. I didn’t even want to think about the horrors that she’d gone through. I shuddered at the memory of the brief time I’d spent locked in captivity. Years of torture, rape, and mental abuse had greeted her while I’d been rebuilding my life.

“Rosa, it’s nothing like that. She really isn’t the person she was before. Kane had to sedate her just to get her out of there. I’m taking her back to my place now, but it’s going to take some time to get her out of her shell again. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Do you think she will ever come back to us?” I asked hopefully. “I hate to think that I had a hand in this.”

“You didn’t, and you can’t think like that either. What happened to her was a tragic accident, but an accident nonetheless. You couldn’t know that he would disappear with her again. I don’t even know why he brought her back there.”

“Well, it was a lucky break for us that he did. Did you run into any problems?”

“No, they were gone before we got there. It didn’t look like Collins had been there in a while.”

“What are we going to do about him? I feel like I’m being followed, Peyton. I don’t like this.”

“I know. I hate it too. Kane is working on a couple of things to bring him down, but for now, we need to stay low.”

“Low and apart,” I muttered.

I hated not being with him. It didn’t feel right to sleep in my bed alone. There was nothing at home to comfort me anymore. I hadn’t realized how much of an impact Peyton had made in my life. He was the rock that kept my foundation from falling. I didn’t care if Shannon wasn’t the same person as before. I wanted to be with both of them. I knew that he was telling the truth. Our being apart was safer than our being together, no matter how much it hurt.

“I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” I whispered.

“Just hang in there for a little longer. Has anything strange happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I feel like I’m being followed.”

“That’s because you are being followed.”

“What?”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to tell you before we went after Shannon. I brought in a couple of men whom I could trust to tail you.”

“Without telling me? Without asking me?” I hissed at him. “I don’t like having people watching me. I have a life here and people who have already started to notice the change in me.”

“Sorry, darlin’, but your safety is what I care about. When this is all over, you can get as angry as you want with me. Until then, you’ve got a tail whether you like it or not.”

I felt my hand twitch with aggravation. I had survived for three years without his help or protection. Nothing had gone wrong with my life until Peyton had shown up. My emotions were all over the place recently, and I couldn’t figure out why. I just had to chalk it up to all the stress that I was under.

“Keep me posted, I guess. I’m going to go. I need to be at the shop early in the morning. I left today, but I don’t want to do that again tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I know. I thought maybe you were taking my advice after all.”

“Oh,” I hissed. “Right. I forgot you had people following me.”

“Darlin,” he started to say, “you’ve gotta trust me on this one, okay? You do still trust me, right?”

I flinched, not knowing if I could answer the question anymore. The moment was fleeting, though, as I remembered everything he was doing for me. “Of course I do.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sure,” I muttered. “Take care of Shannon, and let me know when I can have my life back.”

I slammed the phone down and stomped up the steps to my bedroom. Now that I knew the people following me weren’t going to try and slit my throat in the night, I could get some sleep. I didn’t even change out of my clothing as I fell down onto the bed and closed my eyes. I reminded myself that what mattered was that Shannon was safe. She would need a lot of help and care over the next few weeks. I couldn’t be there for my friend if I was fighting with Peyton all the time.

“Men,” I hissed under my breath.

When my phone rang again and Mary’s name came up on the screen, I hit the button to ignore the call. I couldn’t deal with any more of her questions or concerns. I knew that she cared, but what I really needed was Peyton. Letting myself doze off to sleep, I thought about him holding me tight and prayed our separation wouldn’t last much longer.