“Jonah,” I breathe out.
He steps toward me, blocking me into a corner as his lips lift up on one side.
“I couldn’t stop staring at you.”
“I—”
“I always wondered what you had going on under those long skirts and tank tops.” He licks his lips and I revolt at the action, my eyes widening. “I think it’s about time—”
The sound of Kim’s laugh has him pulling away, straightening up to his full height of just under six feet.
“Ms. King,” he greets.
Kim turns her attention to us, her brown eyes watching me carefully.
“Jonah.”
The air crackles, and I swallow against the lump building in my throat when my cell vibrates in my pocket.
“I better head…” Jonah trails off when my dad walks out behind Kim, his eyes blazing with so much fire I’m sure he could scorch me from here.
The guy I bumped into is next to him, and when I flick my gaze to him, I find him watching me too, but not in the way everyone else is. I’ve never seen him here before, but when he turns to Dad and says, “I better start to unpack,” I realize he’s probably just moved into town. He smiles, shaking Dad’s hand before he walks away, leaving the four of us and the tension skyrockets.
“Liliana, Kim has invited us for dinner. Go home and get washed up, I’ll be back in fifteen minutes and we can walk over together.”
“Y-es, Dad.”
My movements are jerky, my legs not seeming to work properly as I shuffle past Jonah and down the path.
My mind is somewhere else as my body works on autopilot, walking into the house and going up to my room. Pulling my skirt off, the cell drops to the floor, and that’s when I remember it vibrated.
My heart rate picks up as I unlock it, opening up the message app and seeing Luke’s repl
y.
Luke: Hey.
It’s stupid that my lips lift up into a huge smile, but I can’t help it. There’s something about him that tells me I’m safe. I don’t know him, I don’t know anything about him other than he used to be in the Marines and he’s Kim’s son. Closing my eyes, I can see the photos on Kim’s walls so clearly, the way he stands in his uniform, the pain behind his eyes. It’s so clear to me, but to anyone else, all they’d see is a normal person.
He screams danger, but when his ice-blue eyes are focused on me, I know he’d never hurt me—that he’d never let anyone hurt me.
Only it’s not true.
He can’t save me, only I can do that.
Dropping the cell into my hiding spot under my bed, I quickly get dressed just in time for the door to slam shut and Dad to call my name.
“Coming!” I shout back, grabbing my black jersey cardigan and pushing my arms through it.
Racing down the stairs, I walk into the living room, halting when I see his face.
“You stay away from that boy,” he warns.
“Wh-at? Who?”
“Jonah,” he grinds out. “I don’t want you having anything to do with him, he’s…” His nostrils flare, redness working its way over his cheeks as he steps toward me, grabbing my arm and yanking me closer. “You stay away from him.”
I nod, keeping my mouth closed as he tenses his hand, squeezing harder before letting me go and adjusting his jacket.