Page 35 of Wrecked for Love (Buffaloberry Hill #1)

ELIA

Two days had passed. I’d mastered the art of avoiding sleep—though I was already an expert—but this morning, the ring of my phone jolted me like an alarm clock.

“Thompson Falls,” a gruff voice said. Mr. Gunn. No mistaking it.

I didn’t waste time thinking. I just went. As I drove, Mr. Gunn explained that the shelter owner there had found an envelope full of cash—dropped off just before opening this morning. Someone had seen her.

Thompson Falls was even smaller than Buffaloberry Hill, and I couldn’t spot her anywhere. So, I gambled and headed north.

Time hadn’t healed, and I still felt the hurt.

But what was worse? Time also had a way of making me question my own truth.

I’d painted her as a killer. Was that even fair?

I hadn’t even let her speak. She’d been running from New York because she’d killed people there.

I accepted that. But why had I been so quick to dismiss her when she looked so desperate for me to believe Armand Voss had attacked her and that she’d killed him?

Was she really capable of spinning such a wild lie?

Insisting it had really happened even without a shred of proof?

I felt even more lost now than I had this morning.

If my initial reaction had been right, why did I feel this awful now? Why did every nerve in my body keep tormenting me, like invisible hands were pressing in—tightening, searing, and wringing the life out of me as if that was the only way I could see sense?

My heart—damn, my heart—was still on her side. Was that foolishness or plain honesty?

No matter what the answers were, one truth hit me harder than anything else. I was going to lose her. For good. There was no trace of her anywhere. But I couldn’t go back. Not even to The Lazy Moose. Not to buy a new mattress or pretend I could just move on. No part of me would let me do that.

After what felt like hours of chasing every dead end and sniffing out clues like a hound dog, I finally got a break. A familiar gray Ford sedan parked near a diner. It was hers.

I pulled into the lot just in time to catch sight of her stepping out of the diner with her head down, completely unaware. I eased my truck into reverse, quietly blocking her in before she could even think about leaving.

“The hell!” she yelled, startled, then stopped cold when she realized it was me.

Her eyes flared with something between frustration and disbelief, a spark of that Claire fire I knew so well.

“Move the truck,” she said, her tone defiant. “Now.”

“Not a chance, Claire.” I jumped out and left the door wide open, too focused on keeping her in my sight to bother closing it.

“So you want to talk?” She folded her arms across her chest.

“No, I don’t.” I shook my head adamantly.

She frowned, releasing a muted “Huh?”

“I want a confession,” I said, locking my gaze with hers.

Before I could blink, she bolted—not away, but straight toward me. She threw herself into my open truck, the keys still in the ignition, and then she locked the door.

“Damn it!” I shouted, lunging onto the hood. I wasn’t about to let her slip away again.

She drove forward, her face flushing, her hands gripping the wheel like she wanted to tear it off. “Let me go, Elia!”

“No! What are you gonna do? Run me over?” I clung to the hood, adrenaline pumping. “Remove me like the others?”

People started to gather, their eyes on us, but I didn’t care. She threw her hands up in frustration, then shoved the door open. I slid inside, and she shifted to the passenger seat, letting me take control.

I pulled out of the parking lot, driving to the other side where we’d have some privacy. This wasn’t going to be easy, but I was done with easy.

“Tell me who you really are, Claire.” My voice came out firm, though I felt a quiet faith in her. I needed her truth. Whether I walked away from this or held her in my arms at the end, I wanted to leave nothing unsaid.

For a long moment, she didn’t speak. I waited with the patience of a detective—hell, I could wait as long as it took.

Finally, she broke the silence. “So…you found out.”

“Who. Are. You?” I repeated.

She tensed her throat, looking more fragile than I’d ever seen her. “My name is Claire Magnussen,” she declared, her tone crisp as if ready to lay everything bare.

A breath, then the confession poured out of her. “I told you the truth when I said I had a brother, Cody. He died saving me. I had a severe fungal infection in my left lung—it was almost completely destroyed. They had to remove it.”

That long scar on her body—I knew it could only have come from something serious.

She went on slowly, as if she didn’t want to continue. “Cody. He was desperate. He was never going to let me die. With our parents gone, fear pushed him to do the unthinkable. He joined a gang called The Revenants. They were stealthy and ruthless, and that night…everything went wrong.”

She paused, struggling to hold it together, but she managed. No tears, no tremble in her voice as she continued, “I tried to save him. But I was too late. I saw him die. That was when one of the men stabbed me.” She gestured to her back. “I’ve got the scar to prove it, Elia.”

I gave a slow blink, letting her know I believed her.

She added, “But I managed to shoot him dead.”

It must’ve been one of the victims who had been killed with a gun that didn’t belong to anyone left at the scene. It was clear now—it was hers. However she’d done it, her will to survive was undeniable.

More questions swirled in my head, but I let her continue.

“I didn’t want to leave Cody, but I knew I had to. I took The Revenants’ money—the money belonging to their leader, Gideon Purcell. Well, technically, it was Cody’s,” she explained. “I knew I had to run, but I was losing blood fast. I thought I was going to die too…until Dr. Ashbourne found me.”

I huffed, no longer able to hold back. “Did you kill him too, Claire?”

“No! No!” Her denial was instant, almost panicked. “He saved my life. I was in Idaho when he was murdered.”

The pieces started to fall into place. “I know about his daughter. So he just gave you her identity?”

She nodded. “I think…maybe I reminded him of her.”

The weight of it all crashed down—her lies, her pain, the truth of who she really was. She’d been braver than I ever could have imagined. How could I ever accuse her of something evil?

I understood why the doctor had protected her all those years ago, why he’d let her live as his daughter. I felt the same pull now. She was telling the truth. It was written all over her face, shining through her eyes.

“And Armand Voss. He was at The Willow!” she interjected, as though reminding me how I’d reacted to her then.

I hadn’t believed her at the time, but now? As much as I didn’t want it to be true, I believed her. Armand Voss had been there, and he’d gone after her.

“He tried to…” Her breathing escalated, but then she yelled, “Fuck him! Just…fuck him!”

Anger and heartbreak hit me all at once. She didn’t want to say it, but I knew. That disgraceful bastard had tried to assault her. He deserved what was delivered to him. But damn me, how the hell had I let it happen?

“Claire…” I reached out to her, wanting to comfort her. I’d never associated fear with her before, but it was all over her. No one could fake that kind of terror.

She pulled back, and I understood. Comfort from me was the last thing she wanted after I’d turned my back on her.

The pull to hold her was nearly unbearable, but I respected her space—she needed it more than my arms around her. But I couldn’t stay quiet. “I’m sorry he did that to you. And I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

“I hit him with a hammer. God knows how many times!” she said when her composure returned.

“I’m not playing a game. I’m not trying to trick you.

If anything, I came back because I wanted to protect you.

I was running away then, Elia. No joke. I was ready to leave Buffaloberry the moment I realized I’d taken down Armand Voss. ”

I shut my eyes, grappling with the reality of it all—the near miss, or whatever you’d call it—that I’d almost lost her before we even had this conversation. “I believe you, Claire.”

She nodded her head slowly.

And then it hit me. The Voss family knew. That’s why the place had been wiped clean. They wouldn’t go to the police; that wasn’t their way. They handled things themselves. But that also meant they’d come for Claire. They’d deal with her, too, in their own twisted, brutal way.

My blood chilled at the thought.

“I’m gonna go to the sheriff,” she conceded. “Now that you know the truth, I’m going to confess everything. If The Revenants find me, I’ll be ready. If the Vosses want me, so be it. As long as you’re safe.”

The hell I’d let that happen!

“Uh-uh.” I shook my head adamantly.

“I don’t want you to die for me, Elia.” She trembled like a leaf, and for a second, I realized her fear was that of losing me .

“No. I’m not about to fall victim to the Vosses.”

She sighed. “Then why are you here? Why were you even looking for me? Aren’t I your real enemy?”

“I was wrong,” I admitted, the words coming easier than I thought. “I love you too much to let you go.”

“You’re ready to bury all my lies? Just because of love?” True to form, my Chili Pepper didn’t just take my word for it.

“No. I came here to unearth those lies and let the sun shine on them. Haven’t we done that?”

Her defenses cracked, the remark melting away the walls she’d built. Her lips parted, but she couldn’t find the words—until she forced herself to. “I hate the dark, Elia.”

I moved closer, inch by inch, until our foreheads met. “I know. You’ve always liked the bright stuff, right? All that yellow paint? Your sunflower pajamas?”

She softened, her smile fragile but there.

Without saying anything more, I pulled her into my arms and held her in a way I’d denied myself before.

My need to protect her—and to love her —overwhelmed every fragment of negativity I’d held onto.

She was scared of losing me, but how close had I been to losing her?

“I’ve got you, Chili,” I whispered, pressing my lips into her hair. She took it in, nudging herself closer to me.

“So, where to now?” she asked.

I exhaled sharply, a warning in my voice. “There’s nothing to gain by giving yourself up. The Vosses—and The Revenants, too, I’m sure—aren’t the kind who follow the rules. You going behind bars won’t protect anyone!”

She clung to me, her breath uneven against my chest. “Elia, I didn’t mean to hide anything from you. I just wanted to protect you from the people who wanted me.”

“Shhh…” I hushed her, stroking her back, needing her to feel safe.

She raised her eyes to me. “What did you say about loving me too much?”

“Yes, Claire, I love you far too much to ever let you go.”

“I can live with that.”

Grabbing her face, I clutched it between my hands. The pressure—the denial that I was about to lose her—was too much to bear. And she shared the same energy, gasping as if repressing something even hotter.

I kissed her so hard that I felt the underside of her lip as we poured everything we couldn’t put into words into that one kiss.

When we ran out of air, she said with a huff, “I love you. Even if you don’t want anything with me, I still love you!” Her hands gripped my shirt like she was holding on for dear life.

“I told you to stay away. But for God’s mercy, don’t you ever, ever leave me again,” I said, still catching my breath. “That’s not what someone does when they love you. If you love me, you stay!”

“I’m here.”

“Say it, Claire. Say you’ll stay!”

Her voice cracked as she fought back a sob. “I’m staying, baby.”

“God, Claire!” I gritted, kissing her again. Her lips plumped, her hot anger replaced by unfiltered passion as my hand slipped under her pants. Relief, lust, fright, and hopelessness steamrolled my self-restraint.

She loosened her pants, giving me even more room to feel her warm pussy. Desperation sent her forward, her hands fumbling for my erection, undoing my jeans, and pulling my underwear down.

What drove us? Danger, perhaps. The possibility that we could’ve lost each other? It didn’t matter. I just needed to feel her, be in her.

My hands trembled as I pushed my seat back as far as it would go. She maneuvered past the gears to get to my side. Her elbow and ass smacked the horn, knocked the indicator light switch, and probably everything else.

She threw her leg over me, straddling my lap as I positioned my cock right under her opening. I knew sex was more than just a release when I was with her, but this…this was both carnal and virtuous. I was desperate to fuck her, yet this was an attempt to bind her to me.

She moved against me, her movements filled with frenzy, taking me in without any trace of patience. The jerking was wild—we were both clearly in a hurry to come.

“Give it to me, Claire. I need you. I need it!” I growled breathlessly. Her tightness enveloped me, her ecstatic cries filling the air as I brought her to an unplanned, anarchic climax. With one final thrust, I withdrew and came all over her thighs, the sensation leaving me sapped but sated.

As she collapsed onto me, I struggled to catch my breath. “I love you, Claire Magnussen,” I whispered. “Whatever name you assume, you’re always my Chili Pepper.”

She cried a glorious cry. “I love you too, Elia Lucas.”