The Hero She Deserves (Unbroken Heroes #4)

It had been a long time since she’d felt such an attraction to someone. It usually took her more time, until she really knew someone. Fame made it hard to trust people, which made it hard to get close to anyone.

Her nose wrinkled. She hadn’t been the most trusting person before she’d become famous. She’d had a mom who was too busy and tired to be interested in her kids. Her father had flitted into her life once or twice, before he’d disappeared for good. She’dbeen close to her brother when they were young, but when he’d hit his teens, he’d gotten into drugs. Her heart squeezed.

And her last boyfriend had taught her that trusting someone was a risk that didn’t always pay off.

Nope, she wasn’t letting thoughts of Brody ruin her morning.

She paused to take a drink of water, then munched on a granola bar. She pulled out her camera and snapped some pictures of the view. It was stunning. She hadn’t passed a single person on the trail. It felt like she had the entire island to herself.

She reached the end of the hike loop and sat on a rock, watching the waves below.

This Reuben situation was stressful, but she realized that on top of it, she was already close to burnout with her work.

She had an Oscar sitting on her shelf at home. She got paid an eye-watering amount of money to star in films. She got to pick the roles she wanted. The days of taking anything that came her way to build her resume were long gone.

She knew she could slow down. She just wasn’t sure how to go about it.

She tapped a finger on her leg. Slowing down didn’t sit well with her Type-A personality. Since she was a kid, she’d been driven to get good grades, star in the best part in the play, win at all her sports. To claw her way out of an unstable, poor childhood.

To prove what, Hollis? And to whom?

She was financially stable now, but maybe she felt like if she turned down roles, they might dry up altogether. And everyone would realize she was an imposter. That she was still the poor kid with her brother’s hand-me-down shoes, tangled red hair, and no one to help her with her homework.

Only one person had helped her with her homework. Dave. He’d married her Mom when Hollis had been thirteen. He’d been a firefighter and worked odd shifts. That meant he oftenlooked after her when her Mom was at work. He’d helped her with her dreaded math homework, and he’d gotten her into watching old movies. She smiled. Some of her favorite memories were curled up on the couch watchingCasablancaorThe Wizard of Ozwith Dave.

She knew that Dave would be proud of everything she’d achieved. And pissed she was running on fumes while some asshole was scaring her.

Okay, enough overthinking. She rose and set off back down the trail. What she really needed was sex—hard, hot, forget-your-name sex. She laughed. It was funny, since she was pretty sure she’d never actually had sex like that.

Sawyer popped into her head because, of course, he did. The vision of his bare chest and all those lickable muscles was hard to shake.

A twig snapped somewhere behind her. Startled out of her sexy daydream, she whirled, expecting to see some hikers.

There was nobody there.

Frowning, she scanned the trees.

With a shake of her head, she kept walking. It must have been an animal. Her thoughts turned to her plans. She’d stop in Paia for lunch, and maybe visit Island Brew again.

There was loud rustling in the nearby bushes.

She froze. “Hello?”

Nothing. The wind played with a few wisps of her hair that had escaped her ponytail. Tension crept in, coiling in her belly.

“Who’s there?”

More rustling, but no answer. Maybe it was an animal?

Or someone was following her.

Hollis set off at a half jog. She wanted to get back to her car.

In the distance behind her, she was sure she heard a voice. She picked up speed, her heart beating hard. Then she heard footsteps pounding.

Someone was following her.

She broke into a run.Oh, God. She glanced back, and spotted a hint of a black shirt in the greenery.