Safe at Last (Slow Burn #3)

“So she was able to read minds—your mind—and now she can’t?”


Eliza’s tone was skeptical. Zack found it hard to believe, himself. Or was she simply refusing to open herself up to more potential hurt? Maybe she was afraid to confirm her accusations. Maybe she couldn’t handle having her worst suspicions proved true.

No, that couldn’t be. Gracie had always been able to read every part of him. His deepest, dearest feelings. She knew the heart of him—had always known it. And she’d known he was utterly sincere in his love for her. She’d laughingly told him that being able to see his love for her was the best possible gift. That she never had to doubt because all she had to do was open her mind to his and his love for her flooded her heart, mind and soul.

And yet, despite being witness to his innermost thoughts, seeing the depth—and sincerity—of his feelings, knowing he loved her with all his heart, she honestly believed that he had taken part in something so horrific? That he was capable of doing such a thing to any woman, much less a girl he adored . . . How could she think such a thing for even a moment?

He was growing angrier by the minute. He’d been shocked. Devastated. Completely unhinged. Destroyed when he’d discovered the shocking truth. But now, after fully digesting it all, after the initial numbness had worn off, he was angry. No, not angry. Pissed.

He’d given her everything. His heart, his soul. She knew how much he loved her. So how the fuck could she, even for a goddamn minute, believe, honestly believe that he would have three of his friends horrifically violate her?

What kind of sick fuck did she think he was? And how . . . how could she possibly claim to have loved him if she was so willing to believe—to accept—that he had done this terrible thing?

He felt as betrayed as she believed herself to be. It didn’t make any goddamn sense.

“I’m pissed, Lizzie. God help me. I know it’s probably all kinds of fucked-up, but I am so goddamn pissed that I want to put my fist through a wall. How could she believe it? How could she have so little faith in me that she believes I did this to her?”

“I understand,” Eliza murmured. “I wish to hell there was something, anything I could do to help. This is so twisted and fucked-up. I mean I’ve never come across something like this, and believe me when I say, I thought I’d pretty much seen it all.”

Zack squeezed her tighter in his embrace. “Thanks for that. I feel so guilty for being angry, but goddamn it! It all goes back to how she could possibly think that I would do this. She knew me better than anyone!”

Eliza pulled, lifting serious, somber eyes to his. “There’s something missing here, Zack. Something we aren’t aware of yet. Something huge. Until you know what that missing piece of the puzzle is, nothing is going to make sense. Hopefully she’ll open up to you. So the two of you can talk and make peace with the past. Neither of you will ever be able to put this behind you until everything is revealed.”

“I just wish I knew what that was,” Zack muttered. “She’s not exactly giving me much. I only found out about what happened because of Sterling. I don’t think Gracie would have ever told me. And now I don’t know what to do. Do I pretend I don’t know what happened? Do I play dumb and wait for when or if Gracie opts to confide in me? Or do I confront her with what I know and demand to know why she’s so convinced that I had a part in it?”

“That’s a hard one,” Eliza admitted. “I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe you should play it cool, for a little while at least. Get her to trust—and confide—in you. Then go from there. But if she continues to shut you out and won’t acknowledge or talk to you then I think you have to address the situation with the information you got from Sterling. Because the problem is, even though she eventually confided in him, she didn’t say a whole lot. He didn’t have much to offer other than she was raped by your friends at your instigation. She didn’t tell him how or why she ‘knows’ you were involved. It sounds to me like she told him very little about the whole thing.”

Zack grimaced. “If I push her, that makes me a huge dick. If I lay off, I’ll never find out the truth. So either way I lose.”