Fucking A. I was at a loss for words.

“I know you don’t want to see me,” she said, her gaze lowering to her sneakers. She expelled a breath that ruffled her hair before bringing her eyes to mine. Beautiful eyes full of pain and confusion and…something I couldn’t put a name to but whatever it was it pulled at me in a way I couldn’t resist. God, she was gorgeous. I’d noticed the differences in her at the hospital, despite her frail state, but seeing her on my doorstep, the sun shining on the crown of her curls, how her teenage body had morphed into that of a woman’s…I had to take a deep breath to keep from reaching out and touching her.

My gaze darted behind her to the trees where thick branches and the incline of the terrain hid the water. “You crossed the river?”

She bit her lip and nodded. “I have nowhere else to go, Rafe. No one else to trust.”

I was speechless. Birds chirped, a hawk squawked overhead, and the howl of a train roared in the distance. But me? I was fucking speechless.

“Say something, please.” She gripped her arm, fingers curling into the long sleeve of a green shirt. The weather was too warm to cover up so much skin, but I knew why she did it. And she looked fucking scared.

Of me? But that didn’t quite add up. What would cause her to set foot on this island, facing her worst fear and the man who’d kidnapped and raped her?

“After what I put you through,” I said, keeping my tone gentle so I wouldn’t run her off, “I don’t deserve your trust.”

She held out a stack of envelopes. “I wrote these while you were in prison. I want you to read them, but…” She backed away, her gaze roaming in every direction but mine. “I want you to read them alone. I’ll wait out here.”

I stepped onto the porch and took the letters, and our fingers brushed together. A shiver went through me as I thought of the answers I might find inside the envelopes, but there was no way in hell I’d leave her out here alone when she seemed ready to jump out of her skin.

“I’m not leaving you out here by yourself. You can go inside and wait. I’ll read them on the porch.”

She still wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Is Jax home?” she asked.

“No. It’s just me.” Did being alone with me make her feel more threatened? “I’m not going to hurt you, Alex.”