Page 115 of Captivated

It tasted like hell and fear.

Like old blood in her mouth.

Felt like a broken eye socket, and a busted mouth. Like black eyes, and bruises on her body. Like a sting in her scalp from her hair being ripped out, and a ringing in her ears that lasted almost two weeks before it started to fade away. Like an ache in her thighs from where they had been forced open, and scratches on her back from when she had practically fallen out of the car onto the pavement to get away.

Just like that, with seven words from Joe, Liliana was thrust into a chamber of memories, and fear. Neither of which she wished for, or needed.

And yet, here she was.

“Hey, it’s all right,” Joe murmured.

He’d come forward, and wrapped her in his embrace. Tight, secure, and snug. Warm, and safe. His coldness bled away, and he took those few seconds to stroke her face with his thumbs, and skim the top of her head with his lips. He tipped her head back, and his fingers wove into her hair to.

“It’s fine,” he whispered, “we’re just going to move you until we can get eyes on him again, and finish this nonsense out.”

“Why did you have eyes on him in the first place? And finish what, Joe?”

Joe stiffened that time.

Liliana didn’t miss it.

“I really need to know what’s going on,” she said.

“I know you do, but—”

“No buts. No excuses. Just tell me.”

“You know I was hired by your father … or your uncles … what does that matter, anyway.”

Liliana frowned up at him. “Yeah, to watch me.”

Joe’s lips pressed together into a thin, grim line before he shook his head subtly. “Not at first, no. That came after when the man who had been watching you for quite a while was found dead in his place—your dad didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to worry. You had the show coming up, and he just wanted you to focus—”

“Stop rambling, Joe.”

“I don’t want to scare you.”

Ice slipped through Liliana’s veins.

Fear walked with it.

She suppressed as much as she could. Right now, she had something else she needed to handle. She needed to know everything before she let it consume her.

“Scare me with what?”

“With me,” he said quietly.

That had not been the answer she was expecting.

Not at all.

“Keep going,” she said hoarsely.

“I wasn’t given details about why I was hired to take out George Earl and Martin Abraham; I was given the file for their marks, and I took them on.”

“Take them out.”

Joe just kept staring at her.