Page 132 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“What?” My breath catches in my throat.

He can’t come with me. He’s a fucking lawyer. I’ll be trespassing, breaking and entering, and if all goes well, committing arson. I can’t drag him into this.

“Noah. I promise I’ll tell you everything once it’s over, but I can’t drag you into my mess. Please,” I plead, but he just shakes his head.

“I told you I’d move Heaven and Hell for you, Little Rabbit. I’d kill for you. I’ll burn the world down with you if that’s what you need. Whatever it is, I’m by your side, no matter what.”

I stare into his dark eyes, and I swear I can see into his soul. He’s not just saying this to calm me down. He genuinely means it. He would do anything to keep me safe.

“Can we take your truck?” I finally ask, and a smile cracks through his seriousness.

“Of course, Little Rabbit. Whatever you need.”

“You might regret that.”

CHAPTER 59

NOAH

I’ve never been so scared in my life. Hearing her scream woke me from a dead sleep. My head was still pounding, and I thought I was in a nightmare until I tripped getting out of bed and it actually hurt.

I rushed down the two flights of stairs and found her in the dining room, a manila file open in her hands with the fucking Vallero’s crime scene photos falling all over the place.

Fucking Jeremy.

I panicked. I thought I was going to lose her, that she was pushed too far too fast. Seeing those pictures must have brought those horrible memories back, and she was having a full-blown meltdown.

Her screams finally stopped, but she wouldn’t stop crying. Even as I lowered us to the ground with her head against my chest, she continued to cry. The words “I’m sorry” kept coming through between each sob that wracked her body. I was fucking terrified.

When I told her I was coming no matter what, she finally agreed. She told me I’d regret it when I told her I’d do whatever she needed, but that’s just it: I’d never regret anything I did as long as it helped her.

So here we are, driving in my truck up to her childhood home. She’s driving because, apparently, I can’t be trusted to drive yet with the concussion. We stopped at a liquor store in Port Huron, and she bought a few bottles of Bacardi and Jose Cuervo. I have a feeling I know exactly what she wants to do.

We drive in silence along the water. The moon is illuminating the long sections of the country roads. It snowed up here when we barely got a dusting at my house, so the moonlight is shimmering off the blankets of white covering the fields.

It’s beautiful out here tonight. The perfect night to burn that fucking place to the ground. It’s been a dry winter. There’s so much debris and trash still littering that place, plus her father was an alcoholic. The fact that alcohol would be in the house and cause the flames to spread faster wouldn’t even be questioned at this point.

“Noah, you need to know something before we get to where we’re going.”

She’s hardly spoken a word since we left my house. Her fingers have been gripping the steering wheel so tightly I can hear the leather crackling.

“I told you before, Willow. Anything you need, I’ll do. Just say the word.”

“You’d risk going to jail for me?” she asks seriously.

I can’t help but scoff. There’s no way I’d go to jail. Plus, I’ve already killed fifty-four people. What’s a little arson added to my list of felonies committed in the name of love for this woman?

“Absolutely,” I say without hesitation.

“You’re crazy. You know that?” she says, but I can see the smile on her face.

I place my hand on her thigh and give it a slight squeeze.

“I’m crazy about you, Willow. I always have been.”

“I need to tell you something. It’s about my past.”

I sit there silently waiting for her to continue. My hand still rests on her thigh letting her know I’m here and she can tell me anything.