Chapter 54

Donovan glanced at his hands, found them trembling, then clasped them together. “I have to go.”

“Why?” The question demanded an answer.

TJ looked up at the ceiling then back to TJ. “I can’t tell you.”

“Bullshit.” He narrowed his eyes and glared.

TJ felt and heard the leashed fury. Fear wasn’t the issue. He knew TJ would never hurt him. However, he recognized how much he was hurting TJ in return. For a long moment he debated what to say.

“I thought we were friends. Friends with benefits. We have something. Or had. Now you can’t get out of here fast enough without a single reason why. And, let’s not forget a fucking hunter targeting shifters nearby.” TJ spun around and strode back to the door. “Fucking ridiculous.”

Donovan’s heart broke. The only man he’d ever loved was walking away forever. He swallowed the lump in his throat and threw caution to the wind. “I was a witness to a violent crime. I just got a call that the guy I helped put in prison escaped.”

TJ stopped in his tracks and slowly turned. “What?”

At least he’s a margin calmer.Donovan drew a tiny bit of confidence from that fact. “A few years ago, I witnessed my boss carrying out an unconscious woman from the bar where I worked as a bouncer. There’d been other missing women that I recognized from the club as well. They all ended up dead. A serial killer on the loose targeting women in the city. There was a huge media storm over it. The pictures of the women they showed were of the ones from the club.”

“When I saw him that night, I put two and two together. He was drugging them then taking them somewhere and killing them. Immediately, I ran to the police. Ended up testifying against him and sending him to prison. He’s powerful. Wealthy. And mean. He promised to make me pay.” Donovan tried to slow his racing heart, to no avail. “I received a call a few minutes ago from the New York Justice Department, telling me that he’d escaped yesterday during a routine prison transfer.” Donovan rubbed his forehead to try to dissipate the pounding there.

TJ let his hands dangle at his sides. “So, he’s out. How’s he going to find you here?”

TJ flinched. “My name first of all. My car, as well. There’s not many like mine still around and in use. The department told me that Bagsby had been spending time in prison researching the type of car that I have. He’ll get into the Department of Motor Vehicles’ records and track me down.” He lifted his gaze and met TJ’s eyes. “When, not if.” He chewed his bottom lip as the worries piled up on him. “Probably already has if that plastic rat in the floor has meaning.”

TJ’s gaze flicked to the side and back again. “Son of a bitch.” TJ’s eyes sparked with outrage. “I bared my soul to you. Told you about my humiliation. Yet, you couldn’t even say ‘by the way, I’m hiding a doozy of a secret’?” TJ’s scowl conveyed extreme anger.

Donovan’s heart pinched. He saw and felt the pain he’d caused TJ with his forced silence. “TJ, I couldn’t. Lives are at stake. My life was at stake. Word would get out. Bagsby has contacts. He’d just put out a hit on me or my family.”

“I trusted you. After the hell Tomas put me through, I still took a chance and trusted you. Then this…” He threw his arms in the air and started pacing the living room with agitated steps.

“Lives are at stake.” Donovan reiterated, praying it would sink in so TJ could understand. “Not just mine. Anyone who knows anything can become a target. I have to protect them. All of them.” He implored TJ. “You, too. If something were to happen…” He couldn’t finish the thought. It was too upsetting and horrible to even consider. “I’d never forgive myself.”

TJ ran his hands through his hair and blew out a deep breath. He clenched his fists before slowly opening them again. His taut faced eased only a little. “Okay. I know what you’re saying. It still stings, though, that I could tell you everything and you can’t return the favor of trust.”

Donovan nodded. What could he really say? “I need to go. If I keep moving—”

“You’ll be running for the rest of your life and looking over your shoulder every minute.”

That wasn’t anything Donovan hadn’t considered before. “I hoped that phone call meant the bastard had croaked. But, no.” He drew in air. “I thought I was finally free.” His voice broke on the final word and lowered his head. He slumped in defeat. The drama and threats would never end.