Page 94 of Archer

“You want him to come in here?” Archer’s voice was tight. “To breach your grandma’s cottage? Those kinds of memories will darken a lifetime of lighter moments.”

“First of all,” I said, hoping to sound more level-headed than I felt at the moment, “Gram taught me to fight. I forgot that for a little while. I was so busy being stunned by this very bizarre situation, that I froze. I panicked, then I ran. But I’ve had time to come back to myself, and I won’t stand for this anymore. I will absolutely not allow it. Honestly, I’m ready to do anything that ends this. And I trust all of you to do whatever it takes to keep me safe. So, I’m not afraid. And you shouldn’t be either.”

Knox and Nash exchanged looks. Some unspoken communication passed between them.

“It could work,” Knox said slowly. “If we plan it right.”

“We’d need Coast Guard standing by,” Nash added. “In case he gets away with her and has a boat. You can count the Carolina Bay sheriff’s department in for whatever you need.”

“Okay,” I said. “Good. What else?”

Archer’s jaw worked. I could see the war happening behind his eyes. The protector fighting the tactical operator. The man who cared about me versus the professional who knew I was right.

Archer pulled me close, and the eyes of the room followed. My cheeks heated under their curious stares. He traced my cheekbone with his thumb. “I don’t like this, but I will always protect you.”

“I know.”

Beside us, Knox and Nash fell into planning mode, and I realized I was falling too.

I was falling in love with Archer.

Chapter 30

Harper

The ring light burned hot against my face, a concentrated circle of white heat that made my skin prickle. The ocean made a perfect backdrop through the window behind me.

“You sure you feel up to this?” Archer leaned against the doorframe to the living room, arms crossed. He wore dark jeans and a black t-shirt stretched across miles of muscle and tension.

“Close enough.” My fingers trembled as I adjusted the lighting one more time. Strange, the way I’d been so confident when I’d posted the photo of myself on the deck, before I’d seen the zip ties and freezer a man planned to bind me and keep me in.

The camera stared back at me, an entire world on the other side.

Jeremy Webb on the other side.

“Alexis is right,” I said. “My fans are worried. The rumors are out of control. And the label needs to see I’m still well and working.”

My reflection in the preview was too pale, my freckles standing out like warnings. “Half the internet thinks I’m in rehab. The other half thinks I’m pregnant or dead. I need to show everyone I’m okay.”

“You’re not okay. You’re being stalked.”

“I’ll probably leave out that part.”

Archer pushed off the doorframe. Three steps brought him close enough that I caught the scent of his cologne and shampoo. “If you need more time to process what we’ve learned since you initially agreed to this interview, you can have it. Take it. Move forward on your terms.”

My pulse kicked against my throat. “My career needs this, and I want Webb to see he hasn’t caged me. I don’t live in his weird little storage space with an inflatable guitar and apron. And I will never be zip tied and put in that freezer. He can’t control me.”

Archer’s eyes narrowed, and though he scowled, there was pride there too.

“Colton’s monitoring digitally. Knox is outside. You’re here.” I gestured around the cottage. “Webb thought he backed me into a corner when I ran away to Carolina Bay. He needs to know how wrong he was.”

Archer studied me, the ocean rolling beyond the window. Finally, he nodded.

I smiled, and his scowl intensified.

Soon, my phone buzzed with a notification from Alexis.

Alexis: Ready when you are. David from Country Now is waiting in the Zoom room.