“Wait,” Riley said, “if Ned was covering Max’s tracks, why the shakedown? Why was Frankie hired at all?”

“Because Blaine had somehow found out that someone was skimming from him. Max had me dig just far enough that I’d see all the transactions Ned initiated. Once I dug only that far, Max had been satisfied, told me to quit looking, that he could take that to Blaine. He’d had me get just enough evidence so he could set it up so Ned would take the fall for the whole thing.”

Riley shook his head, his brow furrowed. “That still doesn’t explain why there was suddenly a dead guy, and it sure as hell doesn’t explain what the fuck you were doing on that boat.”

“I knew something wasn’t adding up, so even though Max had told me to stop digging, I didn’t. I went further than he knew, and what I found proved I was right—I got the evidence showing that it was Max who was skimming from Blaine … for more than a year. I’m talking upward of a million dollars when everything was added up.”

“Holy fuck.”

Nodding, I continued, “I got cocky, thought I could remain unseen. Even though the evidence was in black and white right in front of me, I needed more. I needed to be certain. I didn’t know who I could go to with the information, if I’d even go to anyone. I only saw as far as the day ahead. So I found out when the shakedown was going to happen, and I followed them—”

“Jesus Christ, Evie, you went there by yourself?” he asked, his voice bleeding with disapproval.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s a little late for scolding now, don’t you think?”

He took a deep breath, jaw ticcing, and ran a hand through his hair, the muscles in his biceps flexing against the harsh black line of the short sleeves of his T-shirt with each motion.

I took his silence for acceptance and continued, “That had been Frankie’s first job. Max had pulled him into it, not wanting any of his other guys to sully it, I would guess. I don’t think he counted on Frankie getting trigger-happy and killing Ned. And he definitely didn’t count on me witnessing everything.”

“You saw it happen? All of it?”

I nodded and swallowed, the images of that night blinking through my mind like a flip-book, one bloody image after the other. “Yeah. I saw it, and then I ran. I couldn’t hear what they said after that, but I ran as fast as I could. Got away for a while. I was able to hide the evidence I’d found damning Max, but Frankie caught up with me shortly after that. He kidnapped me, got me out onto the boat with Ned’s dead body, and took off onto the lake.”

“None of that explains how you got away. Or how Max ended up with your locket.”

My hand went up to my clavicle, automatically searching for something that hadn’t been there in years, something I hadn’t taken off since Riley had given it to me more than a year before my disappearance. I could remember everything about that night. How he’d pulled the box from his backpack, tossing it into my lap like it wasn’t a big deal. How he’d feigned disinterest while I’d opened it, covering his nerves and uncertainty with apathy. As if I wouldn’t love anything he’d given me.

Hearing about it now brought the same pang to my heart that was always present whenever I thought of it. It was the only gift Riley had ever given me. He’d saved for months to be able to buy it for me for my sixteenth birthday. It was a silver locket in the shape of a heart, an old-fashioned keyhole right in the center. I’d love it. Cherished it. Whenever I’d worn it, I’d felt invincible. It’d made me feel safe, just like Riley had always tried to do.

I’d never taken it off.

I swallowed, closing my eyes and reliving it like it had been yesterday. “Once Frankie got me out far enough onto the lake, he came over and uncuffed me from the railing, and I tried to get away. He grabbed whatever he could, but I kicked and punched. Then he got ahold of my necklace. I was struggling so hard, he ripped it right off my neck as I took off, then he pulled his gun from his jeans, and I didn’t think. I jumped.”

“Into the lake? Holy shit, Evie, how far out were you?”

“I could still see the lights of the city, but it didn’t matter. If I didn’t jump, Frankie would’ve killed me anyway. At least that way, I had a chance. And, as you can see, it was a chance well taken. As it was, he got a shot in. It wasn’t fatal, obviously, but he must’ve thought it was, otherwise I have no doubt he would’ve gone after me. Fortunately, it was already dark and I was easily lost to him in the water.”

Riley was quiet for a minute, then when he spoke, his voice was rough. “Where?”

“Where what?”

“The bullet … Where did he shoot you?”

I paused for a moment, then dragged the neck of my sweater down, showing the small scar on my chest near my underarm. Riley stared at it, his eyes unblinking, his entire body taut. I wanted to reach out to him, wanted to comfort him now like he’d always comforted me before.

But it wasn’t my place anymore. If the years between us didn’t prove that, the ring on my finger certainly did.

After what seemed like forever, he said, “How long before you contacted Gage?” His voice was hard, accusatory, his hurt bleeding through in his tone.

Though I’d always wondered how he would take the fact that I’d chosen to go to his brother over him, I never thought I’d get my answer. But I got it now, in the hard set of his jaw, the narrowing of his eyes, the stiff set of his shoulders. He was pissed. But more than that, I could see hurt in the depths of those eyes. Hurt that I’d inflicted because I’d gone to someone else. At that point in time, though, I hadn’t had a choice. And even if I had, I didn’t know that I would’ve chosen to go to Riley, if for no other reason than to protect him.

“Not long,” I said. “I don’t remember everything that happened. I remember jumping overboard and swimming for what seemed like forever. Next thing I knew, I woke up on the shore, then I ran. I contacted Gage as soon as I could get to a phone. By that time, everyone had already heard the news about me. He gave me a place to meet him, and I went. He’d gotten a guy to patch me up, good as new.” I nearly laughed at that phrase, because that was about as far from the truth as I could get. That was the last day of my life I’d be anything resembling good. I twisted the engagement ring around my finger and stared at Riley. “That was the last day I was Evie Masterson.”

RILEY

Even having known Evie from before, having known how tough and unruffled she was, it was still hard to believe the petite woman sitting in front of me had gone through all that and somehow made it out on the other side.

“So you just left everything behind.” I hated that frustration bled through in my tone, that I was letting her have a glimpse of exactly how much her leaving had hurt me. And now that I knew it truly had been her choice, it was like pouring salt into an open wound.

“I had to, Riley. If I didn’t … if I hadn’t left, it would’ve only caused problems for everyone, you included. It was better all around that Max think I was dead.”

“Better all around?” I couldn’t believe she was saying that. “That’s bullshit. How, exactly, was it better, Evie? I’d really love to know, because it sure as shit wasn’t better for me.”

“What the hell did you want me to do? Hide out in your apartment? Be reasonable, Riley. Running was the best and only option.”

“The girl I knew didn’t run from anything.”

She met my eyes for a moment before she looked away, brushing a flyaway strand of hair back behind her ear. “Yeah, well. I ran from this. I’d never been up against anything this big before.”

“What about your parents?”

Her shoulders tightened, her spine going rigid, and that was enough of an answer without her saying a word, though she said, “What about them?”

“They still think you’re dead, don’t they? You never told them…”