Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
He’d done his job, and now he got to do what he’d wanted to do since the moment he’d driven away from her. He got to find her again. “Ally?”
He moved into the living area.
“West?” Ally’s voice floated through the suite.
He made his way to the big bedroom. He’d slept on the couch the nights they’d stayed here. There was a smaller bedroom, but it was too far from the main room. The couch had placed him squarely between her and whatever was coming her way.
Ally’s hair was wet and her skin a pale white. She stood there in clean sweats and a T-shirt, her feet bare, and she looked so fucking vulnerable it threatened to break his heart. “Hey, I’m sorry. Someone sent me a package, and I thought it was from my mom, and we should also talk about these pictures that some asshole took.”
Why the fuck wasn’t she asking for what she needed?
Because she so rarely got it. Because she was always the afterthought.
“My mom is trying to get them off the website,” Ally explained, not really looking his way. “I’ll put out a press release explaining that we’re not seeing each other. Hopefully…”
He didn’t let her get the rest of the sentence out. He scooped her up and into his arms. “I’m taking you somewhere safe, baby.”
She gasped as he settled her against his chest and started walking out. “But…”
He shook his head. “I’ll have Tessa bring you your things. I’m in charge now, Ally. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
When she laid her head against his chest and allowed him to walk her out the door, he felt more worthy than he’d ever felt before.
Chapter Six
West heard Ally laughing in the background and was finally able to take a deep breath. She was calm now, and he’d managed to get her to eat something and have a glass of wine.
She was safe.
“She’s delightful.” His brother walked into the kitchen and reached into the fridge for a beer. “She’s way funnier than I thought she would be.”
Since he’d driven Ally to his place, she’d been regaling his brother and his fiancé with tales of Hollywood gone wrong. She was being charming and lovely in her droll way, and they were eating it up. He rather thought having an audience that obviously adored her was helping calm her down. She’d been through a lot today. She deserved some adoration, but he could see the anxiety and sorrow hiding behind her smile.
“She’s putting on a front, and I have to break through it.” He kept his voice down because he didn’t want to disrupt her conversation with Martin.
Rand looked back at the two of them. “Yeah, I thought she was handling the whole ‘someone sent me a blood bomb’ thing pretty well. She’s an excellent actress.”
“She doesn’t get enough credit,” he murmured. Rand didn’t even know all the crap she’d been through today. “In this case, she’s had years and years of experience sucking up every bad thing that happens to her because if she didn’t, she might upset her sister’s career which would have apparently sent them all into homelessness and ruin.”
“Well, we know how that feels.” Rand leaned against the counter. “You’ve nicely summed up our childhood.”
He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that. They had far more in common than he would have believed. Once he’d seen that, he’d started to understand her. Then it had been a really quick slide into wanting her more than he wanted his next breath. “She pointed out the similarities.”
“You like her.”
West went silent. His twin usually knew what he was feeling.
Rand’s brows rose. “You really like her.”
He stared his brother’s way. “Are you the only person in the world who hasn’t seen the pictures on the Internet?”
“There are pictures?” Rand leaned over, raising his voice. “Marty, did you see pics on the Internet of my brother?”
“There are pictures?” Martin’s eyes lit up, and then he seemed to remember he was sitting next to Ally. “Did the paparazzi follow you two around? That has to be annoying. After all this, I hope they give you some space.”
“It’s on Star Call,” Ally said with a frown and a wave of her hand, giving Marty permission to go look. “You better be fast, though. I’m trying to get them taken down. I never intended to drag West into that part of my life.”
Martin sat there, his hand not going for his phone, but there were practically tears in his eyes.
“I don’t care about the pictures. You can go look.” He needed to start breaking down the walls she was putting up, and that began with making it plain that she hadn’t done anything wrong. “Ally, don’t bother with the website. If it doesn’t bother you, it doesn’t bother me. There was nothing in those pictures I’m embarrassed about. I would rather talk about why you had to send Matt out of the suite.”