A steady fall of rain slid down their skin, but the two of them were oblivious to the storm that raged. She didn't move, and he made no effort to drag her into the house. The water washed over them, a cool balm against their heated flesh. He closed his eyes and held her, hoping, wishing, it would take away her pain.

After a while she stopped trembling, and her hands pushed at his chest. "Let me go, Cain."

Reluctantly he released her, but there was something in her voice that made him wary. That ball of fear inside him churned heavy as she took a few steps and turned to him.

"Raine will be here soon with Michael. I need you to leave."

"I'm not leaving."

She brushed wet hair off her face, but there was no expression in her eyes. It was as though the tap had been closed and the water had run out. She was blank. Already gone.

"I'll allow Michael to play in the charity football game with you, because I know how much it means to him, but after that we're done. I can't handle what happened here today, Cain. It's too much."

His anger spilled over. When had this woman gained such control over his emotions? "So, you're willing to toss our relationship into the garbage because of a few pictures? I thought you had more backbone than that, Maggie. I guess I was wrong."

She took two steps toward him, her small form humming with anger. "I guess you really don't know me at all then."

"It's kind of hard to know someone when they're constantly shutting you out." He frowned. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"Not particularly."

He walked toward her. "I think you're using Michael and your ex as an excuse to run away from something pretty d.a.m.n special."

She glared at him but remained silent.

"You've got trust issues. I get that, Maggie, but there comes a moment when you have to let go of that c.r.a.p, or else..." His tongue got all tied up. How could he make her see?

"Or else, what?"

"You'll end up just like your old man, alone, bitter, and wasted." She flinched at his words, and he knew they'd cut her deep. "Don't you want to be happy, Maggie?"

She stared at him in silence for a good long while, and Cain thought that maybe he'd just crossed a line. But d.a.m.n, she pulled his pin easier than anyone had ever done before, and he wasn't about to apologize for being right.

"I want you to leave."

Unbelievable.

"So that's it." He frowned darkly and took a step toward her.

"That's it."

"I don't get a say."

She shook her head. "No, you don't."

The back door flew open, and they both looked toward the small deck. Michael stood just inside, the grin on his face dying as he stared down at both of them. His curls were crazy, surrounding his head in a halo-a result of the humidity and rain.

He pushed away the stubborn wave that hung in his eyes and stepped onto the deck.

"Why are you standing out in the rain?"

Maggie made a noise, a soft painful whimper, and Cain stepped forward.

"Your mom was just coming in."

"Oh." Michael's eyes were glued to his mother.

"Thanks for all your help today, buddy."

Michael nodded, but his face paled as he stared at Maggie. "Are you all right, Mom? You don't look so good."

Maggie walked past Cain and enveloped her son. "I'm fine, honey."

"Is Cain staying for supper?"

Maggie kept her head lowered and whispered, "No. Cain was just leaving."

Cain's mouth thinned at her words, but he remained silent. No sense in causing a scene in front of Michael. That would only alienate her more, and this sure as h.e.l.l wasn't the kid's problem.

"Why?" He wriggled out of his mother's arms and looked up at Cain, his expression serious. "Are you guys having a fight?"

He clasped the kid on his shoulder. Forced a smile. "I gotta run buddy, but we're still on for Sat.u.r.day, right?"

"I think so." Michael glanced at his mother. "I want to play."

Maggie nodded and Cain winked. "Good, I'll see you then."

He let himself out the back gate even though everything inside him screamed that he should stay and hash things out. But what was the point? Maggie needed to cool off, and hopefully she'd come around tomorrow.

He hopped into his truck and sat there for a long time, his thoughts whirling. What the h.e.l.l had just happened? When Cain finally fired up the engine, it was dark. The rain had stopped, though everything was misted in a film of slick water.

He glanced in his rearview mirror. Fog crept along the road, and it mingled with the steam that rose in the air from the still-hot blacktop. The storm had brought a wave of cold air, and it had cooled things down considerably, though the surface still held the sun's heat. Slowly he backed out of Maggie's driveway and headed toward the main drag, which would take him back to the lake.

He felt empty, confused, and p.i.s.sed off.

What a cliche. It had all the makings of a number one f.u.c.king hit.

Chapter 30.

Maggie watched the glowing red of Cain's taillights disappear, and though he was finally gone, it did nothing to make her feel better. She stepped back and let the silky fabric of the window covering fall back into place.

Her chest hurt. Her head. Her heart. Everything hurt.

All she felt was sadness. Incredible, bone-crushing sadness. The anger was still there, but it was burrowed beneath her pain and the impending feeling of doom.

In the s.p.a.ce of a few hours her life had been turned upside down yet again, and this time there was no one to blame but herself. She'd known Cain Black was trouble the moment she laid eyes on him.

She should never have let him in.

And now Michael was going to pay for her mistakes, for her weakness and loneliness. For her selfish need to be loved by a man.

Maggie closed her eyes and tried to ignore the fact that she'd even thought of the word love in regard to Cain.

"Did Cain finally leave?"

Maggie moved away from the window and nodded at Raine. Her body felt like it was two steps behind. Like she was moving out of sync.

There was too much going on in her brain-thoughts of plans and backup plans-of leaving and getting as far away from Crystal Lake as she could. She slid into the large purple and green plaid chair that was kitty-corner to the sofa and picked at a bit of stuffing that had escaped the seam along the armrest.

Raine sat with feet curled beneath her, piping-hot cup of tea in her hands. Her dark hair was pinned loosely atop her head, and she was dressed in ratty clothes-oversized T-shirt and loose track pants-that were splattered in beige and teal splotches of color. It was something Maggie hadn't noticed until now.

Raine pointed toward the small table beside Maggie's chair. "I brought you a tea as well."

Maggie scooped the warm mug into her hands and took a sip, relishing the heat as it slid over her tongue. But still she shivered. She knew it was going to take a lot more than a warm drink to drive away the stark cold inside her body.

"Have you been painting?" she asked, thinking the question sounded lame and desperate-but she so needed a bit of normal right now.

Raine frowned, took a sip of tea, and settled into the sofa. "Are we really going to talk about my sad attempt to freshen up the spare room?"

Maggie stared at the brunette but remained silent.

Raine's expression softened. "I'd like to know what's going on in that brain of yours, because I can see the wheels spinning, and I'll be honest, Maggie, it's kinda scaring me." Raine took another sip of her tea and leaned forward. "It's never good to react to a situation when you're upset. Believe me, I know."

Maggie said nothing, because deep down, Raine was right. She just wished she didn't feel like she was already behind. That she needed to be gone from Crystal Lake like yesterday.

"You can't dump Cain because some pervert snapped a few pictures of you guys together."

"This isn't about Cain."

"No?" Raine settled back into the sofa. "What's it about, then?" Her tone was conversational, but the glint of interest was sharp.

Maggie stared down into her teacup. Steam rose from the surface, but it did nothing to thaw the ice in her veins. She grasped the cup tighter, so tight her knuckles cracked and her skin burned from the heat. She wanted to smash it against a wall. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, pull her hair out, and break something.

Mostly, she just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry.

She did none of those things. Instead she looked Raine in the eye and spoke. "I'm leaving town."

"Leaving town?" Raine sputtered. She'd obviously not been expecting to hear that. She wiped a few drops of tea off her chin. "What do you mean? To hide out? Where will you go? s.h.i.t, Maggie, if you really feel the need to get some quiet over the next couple of days, come and stay with me."

"Thanks for the offer, Raine, but that's not what I meant." Maggie ran fingers across her forehead and winced as pain lashed across her skull. She was well on her way to a lovely migraine.

"You don't understand. As soon as I can, probably Sat.u.r.day afternoon, Michael and I are leaving Crystal Lake, and we're not coming back. I should leave tomorrow, but I can't take Sat.u.r.day away from my son."

Raine was shocked. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She took a sip of tea, her eyes never leaving Maggie, and when she spoke her voice was tremulous.

"But that doesn't even make sense. Don't you think you're overreacting? Just a little bit?"

Maggie gazed across the room at Raine. An image of Dante-his face twisted in rage, his skin tight, and his fists flying-crossed her vision, and she blinked rapidly to clear the image. She shook her head. "No, I'm not overreacting."

Raine studied her in silence for several long moments. "What are you not telling me, Maggie?"

Maggie's eyes shifted to just beyond Raine. She heard the shower running and knew that Michael would be a while. Could she trust Raine? Would it be all right to share some of this burden and confide in a friend?

A shudder racked her frame, and Maggie realized her clothes were still damp, from being outside and so was her hair. She leaned over and grabbed the throw blanket off the corner of the sofa and wrapped it around her shoulders. She couldn't get sick. There was too much to do.

"I didn't come to Crystal Lake because I'd planned on it-because I had family close by or friends here. I'd never heard of this place until..." She exhaled and paused for a second. "I let Michael choose our destination, and do you want to know how we did that?"

Raine nodded slowly but remained silent.

"He closed his eyes and pointed at a map. A travel map I took from his father's car. It was a tiny red dot in a sea of dots, but there it was, Crystal Lake. That's why we came here. I figured if we chose some random town, it would make it that much harder for us to be discovered."

Maggie saw the moment as if it were yesterday. The police had just taken Dante away, and she knew her window of opportunity was small. His daddy's money would have him out by noon the next day.

Michael's finger had directed their fate, and they'd left Savannah within the hour, armed with two large bags of clothes and the stash of cash she'd been h.o.a.rding for the last few years.

"Who are you running from?"

Maggie sighed and swirled the liquid around in her cup. So many confessions had fallen from her lips in the last few days.

"Maggie?" Raine prodded.

"My husband, Michael's father."

Silence greeted her admission, and Maggie glanced up into Raine's eyes. They were colored dark with concern.

"So, this man is dangerous?"

Maggie's eyes narrowed and it was hard for her to stay calm. "If he finds me he will take Michael away, and there is no way in h.e.l.l that I'll allow Dante anywhere near my child."

"Maggie. It doesn't have to be that way. He can't just take your child away, especially if he's been"-Raine's voice softened-"abusive toward you or Michael."

"You don't understand." Maggie's words were bitter. "Dante's family is powerful, well established. They have a lot of money. I have nothing to fight them with."

"You'll never belong to anyone else, b.i.t.c.h. When I get out of here, I'm going to make sure you understand just how much you belong to me. And don't think of running. That didn't work out so well for you last time."

He leaned in close. She could feel the heat of his breath against her cheek, and her gut roiled, full of nausea.

"Because if you do, I will find you and I'll make sure your son never sees you again. You're nothing but trash, Maggie. Garbage that I rescued from the gutter. Remember that. What judge would award custody of that little snot-nosed b.a.s.t.a.r.d to someone like you? An uneducated, pathetic excuse for a woman?"

Dante's words echoed in her mind, his voice crystal clear as if he stood beside the chair, whispering his threats into her ear.