When she left the cabin, she didn’t tell King that she was going to Thorne’s.

Effie knew he’d either try to stop her or demand to go with her—neither of which she could handle. It had been easy when she’d walked in on Thorne to think she’d just never go back.

However, the longer she spent at the cabin, the more she thought about what she’d left there. From her passport to her first edition, signed books from her favorite romance writers, she knew there were things that she needed to get back.

There’s no way in hell Thorne’s keeping it all, she thought to herself.

Effie worried that he’d already destroyed everything, but as she poked around on his Instagram it seemed like he’d kept himself busy.

For the past two days, he’d posted photos from the beach with hashtags that placed him in the Florida Keys. Over half of them featured random girls in slips of bikinis, with one photo taken on the sly at that clothing optional rooftop bar.

Effie surprised herself when she felt nothing as she’d scrolled through those photos.

How can someone just move on so fast like that? she wondered about herself, though clearly Thorne felt the same way.

Instead of hurting about Thorne, she felt her heart ache the farther she drove from the cabin.

King had kissed her goodbye, slow and deep, in the foyer after he’d taken her small bag to the car. For that, she’d been grateful. Had he walked her outside, she might not have been able to keep it together. Effie wiped at the tears that gathered at her eyes with the back of her hand, but managed to keep the tears at bay during the drive.

She was on a mission, with Thorne hundreds of miles away.

Take care of your mess first, she told herself.

The driveway to Thorne’s condo was empty. From what she could tell, the lights were out. Adrenaline started to pump through her as Effie’s entire body remembered the shock of the last time she was there.

She breathed out a sigh of relief when her key worked. For all she knew, he’d already changed the locks. However, it seemed that after the blowup at the cabin, he’d been on the first plane south.

It looked like the cleaners had been there recently, the scent of bleach in the air. Effie grabbed fistfuls of plastic bags from the kitchen and started to methodically go through the rooms. Thorne apparently hadn’t done anything at all to her things. Everything was where she’d left it, including her toothbrush perched in the bathroom.

Effie filled six bags. She tied them neatly and put them by the front door before doing a final sweep. As she lifted the comforter of the king-sized bed, she saw a spray of women’s underwear—none of which were hers.

I guess the cleaners weren’t so thorough after all.

She had no idea how long the collection of lacy thongs and boy shorts had been there or how many different women they belonged to. And she didn’t care.

All Effie wanted was to give herself completely to King, but they were stuck. It was the same freaking situation they’d been in for years, only worse now.

Back in high school, there were ways around it. Time could have solved it all. But then she and Thorne had gone and messed everything up.

As Effie scanned the condo for any last items, she tried to solve the puzzle of her and King. But no matter how she looked at it, they were doomed.

Love can only do so much, she thought. Not that he’s even said he loves you.

That was another obstacle she’d faced down. On one hand, she knew it was ridiculous to expect that after only a few days. Then again, they’d known each other forever.

Would it make any difference if he’d said he loved you? She didn’t know.

He hasn’t made any promises, she reminded herself. There are no talks of the future, not in concrete terms.

Effie knew enough to understand how easy it was to make flippant remarks. So-called promises like, “I want to be with you” were simple to say.

Whenever it came down to the real talk with King, the logistics, he froze up. Just like always. That wasn’t enough to gamble her future on, especially when it wasn’t just her future. There was her mom, and there was Yaya. Her family deserved more than that.

Even if I don’t, she thought.

She filled her hands with the bags, locked the door, and put the key in the secret little pot where Thorne kept his spare. As she rounded the corner towards the driveway, Thorne whipped his black Mercedes into the space behind her, blocking her in.

Effie’s heart began to pound so roughly she could hear the blood in her ears. She froze, unable to move, arms laden with bags.

Thorne hopped out of the car and slammed the door shut.

“I thought you were in Flori—”

“You stupid bitch, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he growled. She realized he held the screams in because of the neighbors. However, when she glanced around, she didn’t see evidence of anyone nearby.

Fuck, my phone, she remembered. He’s been tracking my every move.

She’d forgotten and didn’t have a clue how to undo whatever tracking app he’d secretly installed.

“What do you want, Thorne?” she asked. Effie dropped the bags and pulled out her phone.

“What do I want?” He let out a laugh. “I can’t believe you fell for that Instagram bait. I knew you weren’t over me, how could you be? Lurking around online, trying to figure out where I was.”

“You think I was seeing where you were because I wanted you back?” she asked, incredulous. “I was trying to figure out when you’d be gone so I could get my stuff!”

“Keep your voice down,” he warned. “And you don’t have any stuff, Effie. Everything you own I bought you. Anything you think you bought yourself, that was a luxury because I allowed you that lifestyle.”

“You allowed me…” she said in wonder. Did he really believe all this?

“You’re goddamned right I allowed you,” Thorne said.

He approached Effie with sure footsteps, silent as a cat. She saw the rage in his eyes, but he moved in a way that wouldn’t cause any alarm to passerby.

Effie held up her phone and dialed 9-1-1, but she didn’t press CALL. She simply let him see.

“Touch me, and I’ll call them,” she said. “I’m not kidding, Thorne.”

He grit his teeth and stopped inches from her face. “You owe me a lot of fucking money, you goddamned slut.”

The word stung, even though when King said it in bed it turned her on. What is wrong with me?

“I don’t owe you anything,” she said evenly. “Anything I might have owed you, you’ve already taken in spades.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Effie,” he said. “You think I haven’t been keeping track? You think everything I’ve ever given you or ‘helped you out with’ was free? Do you really think I haven’t had my CPA track everything?”

She felt her heart drop to her stomach. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I have a very well-kept account of all that goddamned money you blew through from day one. Almost three years, Effie. And I’m not going to let you run off with my brother without paying your debt.”

“You need to back off, Thorne,” she said. Her voice was close to breaking, but she wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. “I’m sorry that you cheated on me and now things aren’t working out how you wanted them to, but that’s life.”

“That’s life?” Thorne asked with a nasty laugh. “And what do you know about life, Effie? You went straight from your mommy’s house to fucking my brother in high school and getting a taste for what a decent life is like. You hadn’t even graduated from fucking high school before you’d figured out a way to get someone else—me—to take care of you.”

“That’s not true, and you know it,” she said. “Don’t pretend like it wasn’t both of us that decided to get back at King. It was stupid, and it was childish, but it was both of us. And you’re the one who proposed it.”

“Listen up, you fucking bitch,” he said as he inched his face closer. “You’re going to pay, one way or another.”

“And what does that mean?”

“It means I take more than cash as repayment. If you don’t have what you owe me, you can bet your ass I’ll take it from your mom. From King. Even from your senile as shit grandmother.”

Effie’s heart went wild, but she kept her voice calm. She pressed the CALL button and heard the rings begin.

“I’m calling the police, Thorne,” she said.

He started to back up and searched for the keys in his pocket.

“You’re going to regret this, you fucking whore. Count on it,” he said.

He fired up the engine and peeled away into the street as the operator picked up.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” a robotic male voice asked.

“Uh, nevermind. Sorry,” she said.

“Miss, do you know it’s illegal to call this line without an emergency?” The voice sounded more perturbed than angry.

“I’m sorry, I thought there was an emergency, but there’s not.”

“Are you certain?”

Effie paused. No.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

She hung up, and only then did her entire body begin to shake. She had no idea of what Thorne was actually capable of doing.

Effie hauled the bags into the back of the SUV, climbed in and drove down the street to park in the busy little strip mall parking lot.

If nothing else, stay around people.

She needed to ditch the phone, otherwise she’d never know if Thorne knew where she was or not.

She didn’t know if she should call her mom and warn her or not.

What if Thorne is just all talk?

It was too early to get her family worried, and Renee wouldn’t know what to do. Besides, it would take too long to fill her in on everything.

Effie only had one person she could call, but she didn’t even know King’s number. By some miracle, the number for the cabin’s landline popped into her head. It was still there, tucked away in some chamber of her heart, all these years later.

“Hello?” King said. His deep voice instantly calmed her. It felt like she’d never left.

“King…” she started, but her voice finally broke.

“What is it? What happened?”

“I, uh… I went to the condo to get my stuff?”

“You went to Thorne’s place?” he asked, immediately on guard. “Why would you do that? Was he there?”

“I thought he was in Florida!” she said. “I—God, I’m stupid. He’s still tracking my phone. He showed up right when I was leaving, and—”

“What happened? Did he hurt you?”

“No,” she said. “He just… he’s really angry, King. He says I owe him all this money, and threatened my mom and Yaya if I didn’t pay him. Then he said he’d take payment other than money, whatever that means—”

“Where are you?” he asked. “I’m coming to get you.”

“No, don’t,” she said quickly. “I’m okay, I’m at some shopping place’s parking lot.”

“Is there a phone store there?”

“What?”

“An AT&T store, Best Buy, something like that.”

“Uh, yeah,” she said as she scanned the stores.

“Go get another phone right now, a burner one if that’s all you can get. You need to get rid of that phone.”

“Okay,” she said.

It was comforting, having him there. Someone who had her back.

“Once that’s done, call me back. And text me the address of the store, just in case.”

“I really don’t think Thorne’s going to—”

“Did you hear me, Effie? Go get a new phone and text me your address.”

“Why?”

“I’m coming to get you, no arguments. We don’t know if he put a tracker on your car, too.”

“Are you serious?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“I don’t know,” he said. “He might have before you left him, or he might have done it when he showed up at the cabin. Either way, for now you need to leave the car.”

“What are you going to do?”

“The roads are clear, I just ordered an Uber to come get me and take me to my Jeep. It’s not far from here. I’m coming to get you. Shit, the car just pulled up, hold on.”

“King, what are you doing?” she cried.

She didn’t know what she’d expected when she called him, but it wasn’t this.

“Effie, just do what I say right now, okay?” he asked softly.

“Okay,” she said even as her heart broke a bit at the words.

“All right.” She heard King get into the car and greet the Uber driver. “Until this whole situation with Thorne has abated, I’m going to be with you. Okay?”

She hadn’t known how much she wanted to hear those words until it happened.

Effie hung up and hurried towards the store.