Breaking the Rules (Pushing the Limits 1.50)

“If we see each other again, I’m walking in the opposite direction.”

She snorts. “You don’t need to worry about seeing me for a while. I agreed to another stint in rehab for this bail.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Fourth time’s a charm, right? So I’m assuming you want to know the last sign.”

“Not anymore.” I didn’t need tips on the downward spiral of my relationship with Echo. I annihilated it fine on my own.

“Tough. You’re hearing it.”

No, I’m not. I pivot, choosing Isaiah’s path.

“It’s you,” she calls out. “We destroy it all because we’re so fucked up thinking that they’re going to leave us that we make it happen. Self-fulfilling prophecy and all that shit. If they don’t walk away then we give them a reason to leave.”

The words ram like a two-by-four into my gut. I wish Mia had led with that statement in the alley, but that would have destroyed the web she was weaving. It’s my own damn fault for flying straight into her trap.

Isaiah lingers near the edge of the parking lot. When I get within three feet, he angles away from me and starts alongside a narrow, forest-infested road. He’s never been conversational, but pure silence isn’t his style.

We’re miles from the hotel. Two, maybe three, but I don’t give a fuck. I’d prefer to be on foot knowing that Echo’s safe. Hopefully, she’s in the hotel and not halfway back to Kentucky. I don’t carry much of a prayer that she’ll listen to me, but I’ll keep begging her forgiveness until she either grants it or yells at me to fuck off.

And if she does that, I’ll take a deep breath then begin again. There’s no way I’m letting Echo leave. I love her too damned much.

“Hey, Noah.”

I glance up, and Isaiah’s fist pulls back. The punch cracks against my jaw, and I stumble. Pain shoots through my head. Hard hits I can handle, but Isaiah’s schooled on how to go fat man/little boy on a guy’s ass. I wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth. I deserved that and more.

Isaiah steps into me like he’s going for the tackle. “Fuck over Echo like that again, and I won’t stop next time. Got it?”

“If I fuck over Echo like that again then I’ll beg you to kick my ass.”

“Jesus Christ, Noah, it’s like you want it to be complicated. Win the girl. Then keep her. Don’t let her go. Get it straight. One of us needs to get it right and, out of the two of us, you’re the one who has a shot.”

“I got it.” I spit the metallic taste of blood to the ground.

“Do you?”

Sure as hell hope I do. “Yeah.” I work my jaw. “I’m going to need time with Echo when we get back. Alone.”

Isaiah nods. “I’ve got enough to cover a room for me and Beth.”

“The room’s on me. Think you could have decided not to go Old Testament?”

Isaiah cracks a crazy grin. “Naw, Echo needs to see you hurting. Maybe then she’ll be soft on your sorry ass.”

“Or you could have told her to give me a break.”

“Could’ve, but you deserved a crack to the head. Let’s go.”

This time as we start down the road, we’re walking side by side.

* * *

Standing in the hallway outside the hotel room, I rub my neck. I’d rather face a firing squad. If this goes south, it would be less painful to be shot in the head.

Isaiah slaps my back. “You ready for this?”

“No.” A couple of months ago, I berated myself for being nervous over dating Echo. Now I’m terrified that I’m going to lose her. Never knew one person could twist me inside and out to the point of breaking. “But let’s do it anyway.”