Page 47 of A Tangled Web

Chapter Ten

She would have fallen off the stool if Kaya hadn’t reached for her.

“Dani, what is it? I can feel your panic.”

“It’s Liam—” Bailey started, but Kaya cut her off.

“No. Dani?”

She wanted to answer, but her adrenaline was pumping so furiously she could barely make out her friend’s voice. She needed to run and hide. She wanted to curl into a ball and scream at the unfairness of it.

He’d waited until she was happy, until she finally felt safe, and then he’d come for her.

“You are stronger than you were before you came here. You can and should trust your own judgment, but always know you are not alone.”

Stax told her that this morning. A man who could turn into a coyote and back again, who was literally made of magic, had told her she could handle this. Had he known what was coming?

Sal might be sick and twisted, but he was only a man. And not nearly as smart as he thought he was.

“Dani, if you don’t say something, I’m going to get Liam.”

“Don’t talk to me,” she said quietly. “I don’t want his attention on you.”

Kaya looked down quickly and whispered, “It’s him?”

You are not alone.

She couldn’t risk meeting her friend’s gaze or she might break down. “Go to Jace and tell him to get something he can use as a weapon. He should go around back before heading to the parking lot, but he needs to hurry because I may need reinforcements. You and Bailey stay inside where it’s safe. If I’m not back in ten minutes, call the police. Please, Kaya.”

She edged her way along the bar without waiting for a response, clinging to her small purse but slipping off her heels in case she needed to run. She had to get him away from all these people who’d taken her in and accepted her. Her friends.

Hopefully by then she’d have an actual plan. She needed one, and fast, because she couldn’t be sure Jace would show up in time.

“Dani?”

She closed her eyes for a heartbeat, swallowing a sob. Of course, it was Liam. She turned her head and saw him walking in her direction, Gillian clinging for dear life and wearing a petty little grin.

She’d never been so thankful for the competition.

“Did Bailey pick that dress out?” He growled as he came closer. “You’re gorgeous, but it’s the size of a Band-Aid. If I hadn’t gotten a flat, I would have been—”

“Don’t come near me,” she said loudly, forcing a glare on her face when all she wanted to do was kiss him. “You got what you wanted. We’re even now. I’ll be moving out tonight, so feel free to bring your new girlfriend home. I won’t be there.”

Several people around her gasped and turned in their direction. Great. Everyone would be talking about this tomorrow.

Liam looked as though she’d sucker punched him. “What the hell are you talking about? My phone died and I got a flat tire in the middle of fucking nowhere. I’ve had the shittiest day imaginable, and the only thing I was looking forward to was getting back to you.”

At any other time, she would have wrapped her arms around him and given him the hug he so clearly needed, but she couldn’t have him following her. The only thing that could break her was Sal finding a way to hurt Liam.

“Liar.” She injected as much venom as she felt for Sal into the word. Liam went so pale at that she started to worry. “If you ever cared about me, if what we’ve shared meant anything to you, you’ll let me walk out of here. Alone, so I can have some time to think.”

Turning away from him felt like she was tearing off a piece of her soul, but she managed to walk through the crowd, now buzzing like gossiping bees, as she made her way to the door. In the parking lot she picked up the pace, pulling the keys out of her clutch purse as if she were leaving.

Running away again. Sal would believe it, and that’s all that mattered.

A year ago, a few months ago, she might have gotten in her car and kept driving until the wheels came off. But that wasn’t who she was anymore. She wasn’t a runner. She had to trust in her friends, trust in herself to get her out of this.

The small rocks in the parking lot dug into her bare feet, but it was nothing compared to the pain she’d already suffered through. She let it fuel her. She had more to lose than her freedom now. She wouldn’t let him take any of it away.

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