Page 130

Tase holds out his hand to me and I step forward and place my palm in his.

“Keep her safe, goddammit!” Soren yells after us as Tase bundles me into his car.

We’ll get our chance.

The words play on repeat in my head as I grip theseatbelt. It seems like we’re making our chance here. Fuck. This isn’t smart.

What I need to do is hide out in the cabin and figure a way out of this mess myself. But I halfway wonder if it’s too late for that. Or maybe this is all in my head and I’m making a big deal about nothing.

Tase’s hand falls on my knee to stop it from bobbing “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Consider my place a regular Fort Knox. The cabin has no privacy.”

Jesus Christ, what am I doing? I’m reckless, I admit, but this seems like a step too far even for me.

He stares ahead determinedly and I drink in his side profile. Lines fan out from around his eyes, from squinting into the sunlight without a pair of sunglasses.

Suz would tell me to pull my head out of my ass.

Lorie would tell me to go for it, and Aiden, if I told him I hadn’t planned any of this, would laugh.

I’d like to survive until my twenty-first birthday. I should have stayed behind.

Or maybe I shouldn't have come to Jersey at all.

Tase heads away from town along a winding two-lane that borders a river. Finally he flicks on the turn signal and heads down Meadowlark Lane.

The small town vibe is rampant here. I thought the main strip was interesting? On Meadowlark, the houses are farther apart, with rolling lawns and old trees.

Tase turns into a driveway leading up a short incline toward a brick two-story with old Victorian vibes. The front door and shutters are painted black, some of them hanging at a dilapidated angle.

“My parents’ old place,” he explains without me having to prod. “It’s falling apart around me.”

“You’ve never spoken about them.”

“I wanted out of this place and this house, like a fish in a pond that’s too small. But fate had different plans for me. My parents decided to move to a smaller place closerto the hospital, because of Dad’s bad heart. Then I got married, bought out her father’s veterinary practice, and the next logical step was to make this our home.”

It strikes me then, dead in the chest, how Tase has his parents’ house, his father-in-law’s business. What does he have that’s his?

Is thereanything?

I might not like my shitty apartment but it’s mine. I’m not stuck in the trailer, shackled to the past. The only shackles I’ve got are mental, emotional…and those weigh heavily enough as it is.

How would I feel to be constantly surrounded by the past?

Tase parks and walks around to the side to open the door for me. His silhouette is dark with the sun at his back.

“No one is going to hurt you here, Gilli. You’re safe. I promise.”

The moment my hand touches his, my reservations take a back seat. This is my choice. I want everything to be my choice.

What does Tase want?

“I think it’s an adorable house,” I tell him.

“It should probably be on the historic register. I believe it was built in 1912.” He jingles the keys on his ring until he finds the right one and unlocks the door, ushering me inside.

The foyer is packed full of antiques, with a long red runner leading toward the kitchen in the back. The space is divided, with the staircase on the right of the foyer and a living room to the left. A doorway near the foot of the stairs leads into a parlor.

Nothing here reminds me of Tase.