Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Actually, I couldn’t.
She started up again. “If I’d stayed in Kentucky, working in that place, I probably would have thrown myself off a cliff just like this one.” She pointed to the sign in the distance, “Maybe not like this cliff, but any cliff or bridge would’ve worked. So, I was safe from the Sanderson family, sure. But I wasn’t safe. I had to leave. I had to get out before I went crazy.”
She was shaking, her voice thick with emotion as the heat in her eyes blurred with tears.
“I can’t imagine what it was like to be on the run like that and have to put your life in the hands of people you barely knew. I don’t know everything you’ve been through. But I do know what it’s like to lose friends, to not have a home, and how it feels to barely talk to your own family. Those things I do understand.”
She glanced away and brushed at the tears in her eyes. “You chose this life, Bennett. This is your job. I didn’t ask for this. Unfortunately, I ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes, I wish I’d never agreed to testify. Then I could be back in Vegas, living my life, and I wouldn’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder all the time.”
I brushed my fingers up her arm. “That’s not true, Tori. You already know they wouldn’t have left you alone. That’s not how this works. They would have had you—” I stopped myself, unable to say the rest. “I don’t blame you for slipping out and running away. But Tori, you can’t stay here in Los Angeles. You can’t keep working at Parkston’s.”
I drew in a steady breath. “Because Dalton is not a good guy, and as soon as he figures out who you are—”
Her eyes widened once again.
“Damn! Bennett, no! I’m so tired of this—I can’t—”
The rest of her protests were lost as she started to cry, no longer holding back the tears.
I flipped the center console up and slid over to her side. I unbuckled her seatbelt and gathered her against my chest. “It’s all right. You’re safe now. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“How do you know?” she said, her voice thick. “What if he already knows who I am and is just waiting to get rid of me?”
I shook my head. “No. He doesn’t know. Trust me. Your WITSEC handlers wouldn’t have given you up even though you left their program. As far as Richie—or anyone else in the Sanderson group knows—you’re still in their protection. He doesn’t know what name you were given, and with the amount of…action…at the club, I doubt he’s even looked your way more than a few times.”
Tori pulled out of my arms and scrubbed her eyes, smearing makeup down her face.
“I don’t have anywhere else to go, Bennett. I can’t go back to Vegas, and I don’t think I have it in me to start over somewhere new. It’s exhausting, and I’m tired—tired of running.”
My fingertips slipped down the side of her pretty face, tracing her cheekbones and then down to her lips.
“I’m going to help you. You’re not going to do it all alone. But, Tor, we have to get you out of this city.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Tori
“Leave the city?” I repeated, staring up into Bennett’s eyes. He was so sure and confident. But that couldn’t be the only solution. There had to be another way. I’d worked too damn hard to rebuild myself—my life. I wasn’t ready to give it all up without a fight.
Bennett nodded slowly, sealing my fate. “I’m sorry, baby. It’s the only way to keep you safe. For good.”
“Aren’t you here to take the Sanderson family out? If you do that, then I won’t have to leave.”
A small smile tugged at his lips. “While I appreciate the vote of confidence, I still don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay here. Listen, I know this is all happening really fast, but you have to trust me. We may have spent a year apart, but think back, remember who I once was to you. Again, you have to trust me.”
His eyes swept back and forth, searching mine. My heart clenched at the serious look in his eyes, and I found myself nodding before fully processing what his words would actually mean.
“Can you do that?” he asked.
“I trust you, Bennett,” I replied, my voice a faint whisper.
He smiled. “Good.”
His eyes met mine, and he tipped my chin back to kiss me. All other thoughts and worries fled my mind as Bennett and I melted into each other’s arms. His kiss held some kind of power over me. It was impossible to ignore.
I couldn’t think about anything else when we were together. Even though we’d been together less than a few hours before, my body was already aching for his touch.