Their fingers twined together as they headed out of the house. They walked down the steps. Their toes sank into the sand. Claire laughed a little then, and she flashed him the smile that had first stolen his heart.
The smile that started with the little curve of her bottom lip. The smile that made her dimples wink. The smile that ended when it reached her eyes and made them shine.
He pulled her close. The wind was chilly against them, and he wanted to warm her. Noah sank his hands into the thickness of her hair and kissed her. Noah took his time with that kiss, savoring Claire. She’d always be the sweetest thing that he’d ever tasted.
When he pulled away, Noah knew there was one more thing he needed to share with his Claire. She’d proven just how much she loved him.
It was Noah’s turn to prove his love to her.
“I want to take you out today,” he told her as he kept her close. “On the boat.”
Claire searched his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“It’s time to put the past to rest. For both of us.” And he wanted to show Claire that he’d share all of his life with her. The good and the bad.
They walked toward the boat. It gleamed, already set in the water. The day was clear and bright. The waves were easy. It was the perfect weather for a trip out.
“We don’t have to do this,” Claire said, stopping him on the dock. “You don’t have to—”
“You’ll be the first woman I’ve taken out with me, and you’ll be the woman who stands by my side for the rest of my life.” This mattered to him. She mattered.
Claire smiled again. Damn but he loved her smile.
They climbed on board. Noah untied the vessel. He started the engine. The boat roared to life, and soon, they were pulling away from the dock and heading out toward that rising sun.
Claire slipped below the deck. Noah’s hands tightened on the wheel as the salty scent of the water filled his nose. He’d expected to feel the pain from his past as soon as he got on the water. He usually did. But he didn’t feel those old ghosts this time. Because she was with him? “Claire?” Noah called.
She didn’t answer.
The boat was forty feet long, so Claire could still be exploring below deck. He waited a few more moments.
But Claire didn’t come back up.
A tendril of unease snaked through Noah. He killed the engine. Left the boat drifting a bit. “Claire, is everything okay?”
Then he saw the top of her blonde head as she climbed back up. Her face became visible, and his heart stopped when he saw the fear heavy in her expression.
Not just fear—terror.
Then Noah saw the gun barrel pressed under Claire’s chin. She kept rising, climbing up from below deck, and soon the man who held her was visible, too.
Blond hair. Green eyes. A smile that was smug and evil.
“I told you she was my one and only,” Ethan Harrison said. “You should’ve believed me.”
Every muscle in Noah’s body locked down. “I thought you were still in the city.”
“Wh-what?” Claire gasped. The gun barrel shoved harder against her skin.
Noah glanced at her face. The desperation in her eyes undid him. “You said that you saw him,” Noah said simply. “I believed you.”
“Th-that’s why you wanted me out of New York so badly?”
Noah nodded. Yes. It hadn’t been about the reporters. The escape to the Hamptons had been about protecting Claire. Trace and his men were tearing apart the city. Noah had thought Claire would be safe at his beach house.
He’d been wrong. Noah focused on Ethan once more. The man’s gaze was wild, too bright with intensity, and his fingers trembled around the weapon. “You need to move that gun. I know you don’t want to hurt Claire.”
“No.” Ethan lifted the weapon, just an inch. “I love Claire, and she loves me.” He kept a tight grip on her. “But Claire has to be punished. She let you touch her. I saw…”
Claire shook her head. “Ethan, no.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Ethan told her. He pressed a kiss to Claire’s temple. “Then we’ll be together. We’ll sail away, and no one will ever bother us again.”
That wouldn’t happen. Noah would not let that bastard take Claire. “Sloan Hall. You found out about this place through him, didn’t you, Harrison?”
Ethan smiled. “You know my brother killed him? Right before I could.” He laughed. “And Austin always pretended to be so perfect!”
“How’d you get away?” Claire whispered. She pressed back against Ethan, and the man’s gaze jumped to her.
“I had to get away. I had to come for you.” The gun pushed back against her skin once more. “York visited me in that damn prison. Talked as if you were his. I knew I had to find a way to you then…”
Fuck. He’d caused Ethan to escape?
“You faked that car bomb.” Claire’s voice was so calm it surprised Noah. Her eyes were lit with terror, but her voice was flat.
“I didn’t fake it. It was a very, very real bomb. Just ask those dumb cops who were there…oh, wait, nothing’s left of them now.” He laughed again.
The boat kept drifting in the water.
“I called in my favors,” Ethan said, his lips curving. “Warden Quill still owed my family, so he set things up for me.”
The warden?
“Quill made sure the back doors of that patrol car were…a little broken. I could get out, easy. And I did. Right before the dumb prick turned the key in the ignition, I jumped out and slipped into the woods.”
Noah realized that Ethan was damn proud of himself. The guy was talking and talking…and not even realizing that Noah was reaching for the knife he kept stashed near the wheel. The knife had been used the few times he’d fished, and he always kept it close at hand when he was on deck.
It was the only weapon he had available, but Noah was good with a knife. Very, very good.
“I slipped through the woods.” Ethan just sounded boastful now. “You remember those woods, don’t you, Claire? They led to the little bayou. We made love there. Our first time.” He inhaled deeply, as if drinking in her scent. “I missed you so much.” He pulled her even closer, but kept the gun against her. “Did you miss me?”
Claire was staring right at Noah as she said, “Yes.”
Noah tensed.
“I missed you so much,” Claire repeated to Ethan, her voice wooden. Then she lowered her lashes. Cleared her throat, and said again, “I missed you.” But emotion was in those words, shaking them.