Did that excuse Viper’s behavior? If she’d understood biker culture, she wouldn’t have made that mistake. And except for that one incident, he had been nothing but charming and kind. Although his jealousy had frightened her. Was that the real Viper behind the mask? The man who had so crudely called her a piece of pussy and wanted to take her to bed just so Zane couldn’t have her?
“What about you?” She tucked the key fob away and opened the first aid kit she’d brought from the house. Although the cut on Zane’s arm wasn’t deep, there was still the risk of infection, and she suspected he wouldn’t be running to the hospital with a knife wound on his arm.
“I could never hurt you, Evie.” His hesitated, as if he had more to say. “In any way.”
She dabbed antiseptic on his wound, remembering how many times she’d treated his injuries over the years. From school fights to reckless stunts, she had always been there to pick up the pieces. And he had done the same for her. They’d missed so many years together because they were too afraid to destroy their friendship, and yet, in the end, they destroyed it anyway.
“Then why did you leave me?” Her voice tightened as nine years of heartache bubbled over. “What happened that night?”
Zane covered her hand with his, drawing it away from his arm, threading his fingers through hers. “Your dad warned me away from you down by the creek after he sent you home. He said I wasn’t good enough for you. Later that night, he came to the trailer. He … saw … all the drugs and cash. There was a fight. He shot my dad. I ran at him, knocked him down. He dropped the gun. My dad grabbed it and shot him. I didn’t think anyone would believe I wasn’t involved. Maybe shot them both. Everyone in the trailer park knew how my dad beat me; they heard us shouting at each other every night. And I figured your dad had told people I’d been with you and everyone would think I’d decided to get him out of the way. The town would need a scapegoat and I was an easy target.”
Evie’s skin prickled with awareness. He wasn’t telling her everything. Even after all these years, she knew he was holding back, whether it was the way he stumbled over his words or how he stared out into the darkness, or from the set of his jaw. There was more to the story than he was letting on.
“The police thought my dad went to arrest your dad for drug dealing,” Evie said. “They figured there was a fight, my dad shot yours in self-defense, and then you picked up the gun and shot my dad in revenge for killing your dad. Your prints were on the gun. Your footprints were all over the scene. Witnesses had placed you there…” She pressed her lips together, fighting back a wave of anger. “They didn’t want to go to the expense of doing an autopsy or getting forensic reports. They just issued a warrant for your arrest.”
“Figured as much.” He squeezed her hand. “Small town. Saving money. Taking the easy way out.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?” She leaned her head against his shoulder, closed her eyes against the images of her father dying alone, tried to come to terms with what really happened that night. “I was waiting for you. I waited all night.”
“I was worried you wouldn’t believe me either.” He said the words so quietly, she almost didn’t hear them.
She supposed she could understand his concern. Her father had ripped Zane off her, thrown him to the ground, shouted harsh, cruel, horrible things. Then he stood over him and ordered her to go home. He said he and Zane were going to have a talk, but she would never be allowed to see him again. At first she refused to leave, but Zane begged her to go. Promised he’d see her later. Seventeen years old, innocent, trusting, unsure of herself in the world, she’d made the biggest mistake of her life and did as he asked.
“I would have believed you.”
With a sigh, Zane released her hand. He walked down the steps and into the small copse of trees bordering her property, as much lost in his thoughts as he was in shadows.
“Zane?” Puzzled, she followed him, stopping only a few feet away when she spotted him leaning against a tree trunk, worrying the corner of the label on his beer bottle, the gesture so achingly familiar it twisted her stomach in a knot.
“At first, I meant to come back for you,” he said, his gaze focused on the trailer park across the field. “I was going to come at night in disguise. But as I got farther away from Stanton, I began thinking it might be best if I stayed away. I mean, you were going away to college. You were going to meet guys who were smart and had things in common with you. And who was I? No skills. No future. A warrant on my head. Like your dad told me, I had nothing to offer you.”
“I loved you.” She choked back a sob as the words she’d held back for nine years spilled out. “I never thought for a moment you were responsible. I had faith in you, but you didn’t have the same faith in me. You broke my heart.”