Page 179 of Hunt for You

I swallowed hard and made myself speak calmly. “I thought I was losing you,” I said hoarsely. “And that made me desperate. If you were going to be out of my life I wanted to be gone too. So, I thought… I thought if I got Jeremy to catch you there was at least achance.Maybe they’d lose the case. Maybe I could find a way to help you and then you’d listen… or… I don’t know,” I sighed, shaking my head. “All I know is, the second I heard you were out I came. I had to see you. I need you, Sam–or Cain. I needbothof you. And you… you don’t need your lawyer’s help, Sam. You needme.”

A low, tormented noise vibrated in his chest. “You can’t say stuff like that—”

“I can when it’s true.”

His forehead crinkled, and he swayed towards me, but then he shook his head and took another step back. “No, no. This is a trap. They’ve set you up because—”

“No one knows I’m here, Sam. I didn’t bring my car. And this phone is a dummy. I’m not wearing a wire. I’ll show you.” I started unbuttoning my shirt to show him, but his eyes went wide and he rushed forward, grabbing my hands to stop me. But even when I did, he didn’t let go.

He stood over me, his eyes shadowed and fearful… and fierce.

“If you don’t testify, they’ll subpoena you,” he whispered. “And you’ll go to jail if you refuse. You can’t refuse.”

“I don’t care. I’m in love with you and… you’re what I need. I’malivewith you, Sam. I’ve never been alive before.Please.”

He searched my gaze, his handsome face pinched and wary. But then he lifted one hand to my jaw, cupping my face slowly, his eyes still flickering back and forth between mine like he didn’t think he could believe what he was seeing.

He was leaning closer, stepping in, and I leaned in too, up on my toes, sliding hands up his chest to his shoulders, reaching for the back of his neck as he leaned down—but then he froze.

His nose just inches from mine, he froze.

“Is this real?” he whispered.

I nodded, smiling happily. “It’s real—”

He groaned,“God help me,”and took my mouth with a ferocity that set me backwards. Mouth open, tongue delving, fingers clawing at me, a ragged groan in his chest, Samkissed me.

And he kissed me like fuckingCain.

Ecstatic, I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, almost biting the tip of his tongue off with my enthusiasm. But he just growled and splayed a hand between my shoulder blades, pulling me closer and tilting his head—

“Shit!”

He tore away from me, staggering backwards, clawing both hands into his hair and shaking his head. “We can’t. We can’t—even if we could, we can’t. I can’t let you take the fall for—”

“I don’t care!”

“Well, I do!” he roared. “Don’t you get it, Bridget? The only reason I hunt anymore is to try andintervene.Being the one who a broken woman can trust not to take things too far—you aren’t the only one out there, you know! But now? There’s no winning here—if you take the fall, I go free, but you’re in jail. And if I give myself up, you’ll be alone—God, this is such a mess! You put us in such a mess!”

“But—”

“There’s no fucking buts! Just go home! Leave! Do what they tell you to do! I’ll get my lawyer to try and find a technicality to get me off. I amnotgoing back to prison. I didn’t earn that this time! But… I’m also not letting you throw your life away to save mine.”

“But it’s okay for you to throw away yours?” I asked carefully. “Because you know what they’ll do, Sam. Unless I fail them on purpose, they’ll find a way. All Jeremy sees is your past. But I know that’s not you anymore. Iknowthat. You can’t give yourself up to save me, either!”

He frowned. “I didn’t say I was going to—” He cut off and turned his head, his eyes slowly widening. “Oh my God.”

“What?”

His eyes darted left and right like he was looking for a way through something. He turned further from me, but distracted, like he was so deep in his thoughts he hadn’t realized he was moving.“Would it work, though?”

“What? Sam, what are you—”

He whipped back around to face me. “Are you real, Bridget? Is this for real?”

“Yes!”

“I’m not playing a game—I’m not just… I need to know if you mean all of this.”