Page 67 of Off the Grid
“Thank you,” she said and glanced away. The fingers against the back of his neck stiffened, digging into his skin. Her chest expanded as she took a deep breath, gearing up for something. His pulse raced. “Leo, there’s something I should’ve told you earlier, before, back at the house. I— I—”
She stopped cold.
No.
Keep going.
Don’t stop now.
What? What should you have told me? What do you want to say?
Her body went still, rigid and frozen, and that was when he noticed the dread in her eyes, the acute focus on something over his shoulder. Her skin was pale, drained of color.
McKenzie gasped. “Leo.”
Instinctually, he pushed McKenzie behind him as he whipped around, prepared for hitmen or gunfire or a club to the head. His free hand went for the nonexistent gun at his waist—a force of habit. But there was nothing there, no one. They were alone, two dozen or so feet from the closest partygoer. He released a heavy breath.
“Wha…”
Leo trailed off as soon as he saw the orange glow reflecting off the surface of the lake. He slid his gaze across the inky black, drawn by the shimmer, back and back and back to the source. A fire raged on the opposite shore, a burning inferno of hungry flames.
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McKenzie
McKenzie swallowed the confession on her lips as she stared into the blaze. An invisible fist gripped her heart and squeezed, bringing a painful pressure to her chest.
“Leo, is that—”
“It can’t be.”
“It is.” There was no way to tell for sure in the dark folds of the night, but McKenzie knew that the burning house across the lake was the one they’d been in only a few hours before. She just knew it. “How’d they find us?”
The panic in her tone was obvious, and she hated how weak it sounded, but there was nothing she could do. She was so good at hiding her emotions, she didn’t realize how terrified she still was until she’d seen those flames. One look and she was back in that basement, lying against a cold floor, locked in with no way out. Those men were still after her. Despite what Leo said, they were here, across the lake, hunting her. They’d never let her get away, not until she was dead.
“Leo—”
“McKenzie.” He spoke her name like an order. Two palms encased her cheeks, warm and strong and solid. Leo pulled her gaze from the flames, forcing her to meet his eyes. She lifted her hands to grip his wrists, then held on as though he were her lifeline. Strange how two minutes ago, nothing seemed more difficult than letting him in, but now she didn’t want to let go. “Listen to me. No one found us. They couldn’t have. There’s another explanation for this.”
McKenzie shook her head as she swallowed the knot in her throat, unable to speak.
“Breathe,” he demanded.
She sucked a shallow breath through her lips as her chest quivered.
“Look at me and breathe.”
McKenzie studied his hazel eyes as she took another breath, longer and deeper this time. Those golden flecks in his irises brought her back to earth. Her heartbeat slowed. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, not letting go but loosening his grip. His features softened.
“It’s probably not even the house we stayed in,” Leo offered in a soothing voice.
McKenzie shook her head, irrationally convinced. “It is.”
“We could’ve left a candle on.”
“We didn’t,” McKenzie countered, unable to stop herself from arguing. She wanted the truth from him—she needed it. “I double-checked—no, triple-checked—every candle before we left. I don’t miss details like that, Leo. I carried a cup of water with me and put a little on each wick, just in case.”
“That was thorough of you,” he murmured wryly.
