But even so, the urge to grab Alex and disappear was strong, yet doing so would solve nothing. Zach would still be out there, and I’d be damned if we had to look over our shoulders for the rest of our lives, wondering when he’d catch up to us. If anyone should live in fear, it was Zach. But he didn’t operate like a normal human being. Fuck, I didn’t operate like a normal human being.

“If you fuck me over—”

“Have I ever done wrong by you?”

Not counting the shit he was pulling now? “No, can’t say you have.” He’d been nothing but good to me. This time, when Shelton stuck his hand out, I pushed past my defenses, logic, common fucking sense, and shook on it. And as I left behind the stench of distrust in that barn, my feet barely out the door, I wanted to turn back. Wanted to change my mind.

Impossible.

If this was the only way to get to Zach without stirring up more trouble, I had to do it. Didn’t mean I had to like it though. I returned to the boat, silently screaming obscenities the whole way. My life was a series of clusterfucks.

Would it ever end?

Not even close. I got the second biggest shock of the day once I stepped aboard and entered the cabin. Jax was handcuffed to the damn pole.

He shrugged, throwing me a helpless look. “She found your gun, man, and she looked pissed enough to use it.”

Fuck.

I stormed past him and flung the bedroom door open. The dresser was a fucking disaster zone fit for a visit from FEMA. She’d left the drawers open with clothes strewn about, and the drawer where I kept my toys and implements hung precariously off its tracks. Alex was nowhere to be found.

I strode across the room and just as I suspected, she’d taken her purse. A quick swipe underneath the nightstand confirmed the stolen gun.

Double fuck.

As I returned to Jax, I pulled out my cellphone and keys. “How long ago did she leave?”

“Thirty minutes, I guess. Fuck, I don’t know. I’ve been a little tied up here.”

“Any idea where she was headed?” I asked, unlocking the cuffs binding him. I pocketed them, figuring they might come in handy.

“She was going after you, dude.”

“But she didn’t know where I was.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I might’ve said something about the barn.”

“Jeez,” I said, shaking my head.

“She was pointing a fucking gun at me. What was I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know,” I said, attempting to contain my aggravation. “Handle the situation? She wasn’t gonna shoot you.”

“You didn’t see her face. She’s not the same scared-shitless girl from six months ago.”