The Other Side of Love (Forever Love) Read Free Page A

wearing someone else’s clothes or she had lost a lot of weight recently.
    “You didn’t scare me.”
    “So why did you want to disappear?” I smiled at her weakly, and her eyes flashed at me, looking me over in distrust.
    “So you admit it, you came here to get away?”
    “I’m dead.” I laughed, but no smile crossed my face.
    “I’m dead too.” She nodded and ran her hands through her hair. She had understood exactly what I meant.
    “I’m Noah.” I reached out my hand to shake hers. “I mean, I’m Mikey.”
    “It’s best not to use any names.” Her handshake was firm, but her fingers felt soft and cold. I wanted to rub them between mine, to warm her up. “It’s safer that way.”
    “How long have you been here?”
    “Three months.” Her voice lowered. “And if I were you, I wouldn’t ask too many people too many questions. Most of us didn’t come here to get away from something bad.”
    “What do you mean?” I frowned, not really sure what she meant.
    “Most of the people in Palm Bonita are the bad. They have come here to disappear so that they won’t be caught.”
    “Oh.” I pursed my lips. “Well, that means we good guys should stick together.”
    “Who said I was one of the good ones?” She raised an eyebrow, and walked away from me and back down the alley. I watched her as she walked away again. She stopped after a few yards and looked back at me.
    “Be careful, Noah.” She placed a finger against her lips. “Be very careful.”
     
    I sat on the couch, holding my phone, thinking about the first time I met her when Zane walked into the living room. He stood there staring at me for a few moments, and I laughed.
    “Don’t tell me the cat has your tongue.” I shook my head. “This is the first time I’ve actually seen you stand and think before spouting off whatever you wanted to tell me.”
    “Blame Lucky.” He laughed as well, and sat down on the couch next to me.
    “More like thank her.”
    “There’s that as well.” His eyes crinkled as he thought of his fiancée, and I envied him the peace of mind and stability she had brought to his life. I wanted that for myself, but I also wanted to make sure that nothing interrupted the new joy that Zane had in his life.
    “What were you thinking about just now?” Zane’s tone became thoughtful. “You looked so far away just now.”
    “I was just thinking about the day I moved to Palm Bonita.”
    “Palm Bonita? Is that were you where?” Zane stared at me. “Is that here in California?”
    I shook my head. “No, it’s a small town in Florida, about an hour south of Orlando.”
    “I see. Did you choose the area?”
    I shook my head and almost chuckled to myself. “Agent Waldron suggested it might be a good place for me to go and lie low as I didn’t want to become a part of the witness protection program.”
    “Wait, what?” Zane’s eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about? I thought you were in witness protection?”
    “I wasn’t an official part of the program.” I shrugged and looked away from him. “Once you go in, you can’t really come out. I wasn’t willing to close the door.”
    “So you did it for me?” Zane’s lips thinned. “You risked your safety for me, yet you couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me what your plan was.”
    “I don’t want to go through this again.” I let out a big sigh. “Not now, please.”
    “So what happened the day you moved to Palm Bonita?”
    “Honestly?” I laughed. “I wondered what the fuck I had done and wanted to call the whole thing off.”
    “It was that good , then?” Zane gave me a half-smile, but his eyes looked me over with concern. No matter how angry he was at me, I was still his brother, and he was still concerned about my feelings more than anything.
    “Better.” I rolled my eyes. “Palm Bonita is one of those nowhere, small dusty towns, where ex-gang bosses and mafiosi go to spend their days.”
    “Sounds delightful.”
    “Yeah. It was an