Her thoughts drifted to dark eyes and a quiet voice that had her girl parts standing at attention every time he said her name. A man who looked at her like she mattered, even if he didn’t really know her. Tank had taken her by surprise, and she didn’t like surprises.
Lillith huffed out a soft breath, shaking her head at herself. “Get it together,” she muttered to herself. He was a stranger—a drifter, and he’d probably be gone by morning. And yet, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
She reached for her phone and scrolled through the contacts, finding the one that she had made for Tank. Her thumb hovered over the screen. “This is stupid,” she whispered, but it didn’t stop her. Before she could talk herself out of it, she texted him a message.
Did you find your church?
She stared at the message for a long second and then hit send. The room went quiet around her as she held her breath, waiting to see if he’d text her back. She was acting like a foolishschoolgirl. Lillith tossed her phone onto the bed beside her and flopped back against the mattress, staring up at the ceiling.
“Definitely stupid,” she murmured, but for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t thinking about what she’d lost in life. She was thinking about what might be waiting for her next. And that was a whole different kind of terrifying.
TANK
Tank didn’t make it to the church like he told himself he would. Hell, he even started the truck, punched the first address Lillith had put into his phone, and pulled out onto the street like a man with a plan. But plans had a way of getting people killed, and Tank wasn’t stupid.
Yonkers wasn’t some quiet little town you could disappear into—not for long. There were too many eyes and too many people. There were too many chances for the wrong person to recognize him, so instead of turning toward the church, he kept on driving out past the main streets of town. He drove past the neighborhoods that looked a little too clean. He kept going until the buildings thinned out and the road opened up just enough to allow him to breathe, and that’s where he parked.
He left his truck idling as his hands gripped the wheel. “You’re an idiot,” he muttered to himself. He knew exactly what had thrown him off his plan, and she had dark hair and the bluest eyes that he had ever seen in his life. Her laugh hit him somewhere low and stayed with him, even when he told himself to forget about her. Lillith had barged into his life, and he wasn’t sure what to do about her.
He scrubbed a hand down his face and leaned back in the seat, staring up through the windshield at the darkening sky. He shouldn’t have talked to her. He knew better than to talk to anyone. He shouldn’t have let it go past asking her for directions. And he was an idiot for giving her his name, his story, and his attention. That was how things usually went sideways and how people got hurt.
His phone buzzed, and Tank froze. Every muscle in his body went still as his instinct kicked in before logic had a chance to catch up. Slowly and carefully, he reached into his pocket and pulled it out. Whoever was texting him was doing so from an unknown number. His thumb hovered over the screen, then tapped it open.
Did you find your church?
Tank stared at the text message longer than he should have. A slow breath left his lungs. “Jesus,” he muttered to himself. He didn’t realize he was smiling until it pulled at the corner of his mouth.
She had texted him. Of all the reckless, stupid things he had done, this one was going to take the cake. He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing out at the empty stretch of road like it might give him an answer, but it didn’t, because he already knew what he had to do. He shouldn’t answer. He should just leave and keep moving. That was his number one rule, and the only reason why he was still breathing. Tank looked back down at the screen, and his thumb moved before his brain could stop it.
Not yet.
He didn’t think—he just sent his reply. It was too late to take it back, not that he wanted to. “Fuck,” he breathed, dropping his head back against the seat. He had gone too far, and now, his tough exterior was starting to crack. His phone buzzed again. The reply came fast, as though she had been waiting for him to text her back.
You’re bad at following directions.
Tank huffed out a quiet laugh. God help him, he liked Lillith more than he should.
Yeah, he typed. Story of my life.
The three dots popped up almost instantly and then disappeared. Then they came back. He could practically see her overthinking it. Biting her lip and second-guessing everything that she was about to say to him. It did something to his chest he didn’t like.
You don’t seem like the wandering type,she finally sent.
Tank’s grip tightened around the phone. If only she knew how wrong she was. He stared at the words, his mind drifting somewhere he didn’t want it to go. He remembered the gunshots and the body hitting the concrete. The two men turned, as their eyes locked on his, as they’d already decided he was next. And then, he watched as his grandfather’s house burned to the ground, and everything was gone. Tank blinked hard, dragging himself back to the present and back to her.
You don’t know me,he replied.
Her answer came slower this time.
I’d like to.
Her reply was simple, honest, and completely dangerous. Tank swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. This was where it stopped. This was where he needed to shut it down, cut the line, and keep moving like he was supposed to—like he had to. Because getting close to anyone, especially someone like her, was how they found him the first time. That was how she got hurt, and he couldn’t let that happen to Lillith.
He stared at her message. His thumb hovered over the delete button. He should have walked away. He knew he should, but instead, he found himself typing a reply.
That’s not a good idea, Lillith.
He hit send before he could think about it too hard. The reply didn’t come right away. Seconds stretched into minutes. Tank let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. There, it was done. He’d drawn the line, and now he just had to stick to it.