Page 67 of Beckett

But I hadn’t made it ten meters before I slammed on my brakes when a vehicle’s headlights suddenly blazed to life directly in front of me, pulling across the exit to block my path.

My heart slammed against my ribs. The stalker. He’d been waiting. Watching. Planning to catch me alone?—

The driver’s door opened, and a figure stepped out, backlit by the headlights. Tall. Broad shoulders. That particular way of moving that made my chest constrict for entirely different reasons.

Not the stalker.

Beckett.

Chapter 22

Beckett

I’d gotten up to get a drink of water and had been standing at the kitchen window when I saw Audra’s car pull out and head toward the kennels. My gut had clenched hard enough to crack ribs. When I’d seen her actually take Jet inside the dog housing building, the wrongness I’d felt all evening crystallized into cold certainty.

She was running.

I’d driven straight to the entrance of the property, parked my truck across the exit, and waited. I knew it was just a matter of time. Sure enough, a few minutes later, she was headed toward me.

Now she sat frozen behind her steering wheel, staring at me through the windshield like I was either salvation or damnation. Maybe both.

I climbed out of my truck, leaving the headlights on. The harsh light carved shadows across her face when she finallyopened her door and stepped out. Her whole body vibrated with barely contained flight instinct.

“Going somewhere?”

She lifted her chin, but her voice came out threadbare. “Just needed to take Jet back to the kennels. He was…restless.”

“At ten-thirty at night.”

“Dogs don’t keep regular hours.”

“Neither do people who are running. And you’re headed in the wrong direction if you’re going back to your cabin.” I moved closer, noting how she shifted her weight back, ready to bolt. “I’m sure if I checked, I’d see all your stuff packed in your trunk.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“The hell you don’t.” The words came out harder than I’d intended, making her flinch. I forced myself to dial it back a notch. “You were leaving. Without a word. After everything—after these past weeks, after—” I cut myself off before I said something I couldn’t take back. “Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“It’s time for me to leave. I get restless. It’s time for me to move on.”

The words had exactly zero percent conviction.

“That’s bullshit, and we both know it. You put Jet in the kennel.” I kept my voice level, but the accusation landed like a physical blow. She wrapped her arms around herself, shoulders curving inward. “You love that dog more than anything, and you just locked him up and were driving away. So don’t stand there and tell me nothing’s wrong.”

Her breath hitched. “It’s complicated.”

“Then uncomplicate it.”

“I can’t?—”

“Fucking.Try.” Hanging on to my temper was getting more difficult by the second.

She shook her head, backing toward her car. “Please just let me go. It’s better for everyone if I just leave.”

“Better for who?” The pleading in her voice nearly undid me, but I stepped into her path, not touching but making it clear I wasn’t moving. “For you? Because from where I’m standing, you look terrified. For me? Because I’ll be damned if I let you disappear into the night without knowing why. For Jet? I’m sure that dog is all but sobbing inside the kennel. So tell me, Audra—who exactly benefits from you running?”

Her composure cracked. “Everyone. Everyone is safer if I’m not here.”

The words sent ice through my veins.Safer? This wasn’t about her. This was about protecting others.