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My throat bobbed, but I didn’t answer. My chest tightened as he continued to stare at me. The few minutes the light was red felt like a lifetime.
“I would never hurt you, Songbird.” Words failed me. I’d told him I trusted him. Threw myself at a criminal I didn’t know.
The dip between his eyes deepened, and he sighed. I gasped as he leaned towards me, crowding my space. His gaze never left me as he reached under the seat.
His fresh scent surrounded me, making my emotions scatter. He smelled so good. Something masculine mixed with the ocean. It was comforting. And it shouldn’t be.
“Here.” Cool metal touched my fingers as he pulled back. My mouth dropped open as I looked at the gun in my hand. “Do you know how to use it?”
“Yes.” I had an ex who was a gun nut. He collected them like they were baseball cards. I wanted to feel safe if they were around. I didn’t want to shoot myself accidentally when I moved them to clean.
“Do you feel better?” His tone was casual. The light turned green, and he continued driving down the road. It was like it hadn’t even crossed his mind that I could hurt him. Or he didn’t care if I did. Like my comfort mattered more than his safety.
I blinked at the weapon. If he planned on hurting me, why would he arm me? If he’d wanted to hurt me, he could’ve done it earlier on the street when I’d been vulnerable. He didn’t need to save me. I’m sure there were much easier ways to kidnap someone. Still…
“Can I ask you a question?” He nodded. “What did you mean, you sell women?”
His head rocked back in surprise. “That’s what upset you? We don’t sell women. We have women who work for us. They sell their… time to men. What they do with that time is up to them and their client. We take thirty percent of the money they make in exchange for housing in one of our luxury apartment buildings, the use of our hotels, and the general safety of our name.”
“Escorts.” I said to myself, but he still nodded. My confusion cleared. Heat flooded my cheeks.
I felt embarrassed for thinking he could be that evil. I was glad to know my assessment of him had been right. That I could trust my instincts like I used to.
“Did you think it was something else? Sex trafficking.” His jaw tightened when I didn’t answer. His fingers gripped the wheel harder. “We would never do that.”
He said it like he had a deep reason. But I felt too foolish to question him more.
I also didn’t judge him or the women. I’d meant plenty of prostitutes while working at the hospital. None of them chose that life. Didn’t dream of it as children. But sometimes life didn’t go as planned.
I’d seen so many of them die because a ‘client’ had been too rough. Or they froze to death trying to sleep on the streets. I wasn’t saying Nathan was a saint, he certainly wasn’t, but those women were going to work regardless. At least he kept a few of them safer.
“I’m sorry.” I whispered. After checking the safety, I held the gun towards him.
His gaze flicked to it, then back to my face. “Keep it. If it makes you feel safe, then I want you to have it.”
“I feel safe with you.” I felt a pang in my chest. A twinge of regret for questioning the man who’d saved my life. “I was just confused.”
“You won’t always be with me.”
Fear slithered up my spine when I thought of being away from him. I considered myself a level-headed person. Okay, maybe I was quick to get sassy. Fiery is what my mother would say.
But there was something about Nathan that twisted my insides. He both confused and calmed me. Excited me and scared me.
I was dying to learn more.
13
Lark
“Nathan, we talked about this.” The man sitting at the desk pinched his brows in frustration. Windows lined the walls behind him, showing the crowd below at Luminescence. But the glass must be thick because the sound barely carried up to us.
I recognized him as the dark-haired guy who’d arrived while I was treating Nathan the other week. I could tell he was in charge by the way he commanded the room. Was this one of his brothers?
“We don’t take random women.” The exasperation in his voice was obvious.
“Oh, he didn’t take me.” He flicked his gaze in my direction, dismissive, but not as cold as I expected. “I came willingly.”
None of them were what I expected. They spoke with a caring undertone. Like they were a regular family. It was more affection than my parents showed me.
