Page 282 of Taken Away

Every few minutes, her breath hitched.

He wanted to reach for her.

But there was no fixing this.

There was only getting her somewhere safe.

When they reached his house, he came around to her side before she could open the door. Aubrey looked up at him as though she wasn’t entirely sure where she was.

“Come on,” he said softly.

She let him help her out.

Her legs held for the first few steps.

Then they didn’t.

Bennett caught her before she could fold completely, one arm around her waist, the other steadying her hand against his chest.

“I’ve got you.”

Aubrey made a small sound.

He helped her inside, through the front room, down the hall to his bedroom.

He pulled back the quilt and helped her sit on the edge of the bed.

That was when she broke.

She bent forward with both hands over her face, and the sob that tore out of her sounded almost like it came from somewhere too deep to reach.

Bennett knelt in front of her.

“Aubrey.”

She shook her head.

“My whole life,” she whispered.

“I know.”

“She knew.”

His throat tightened.

“I know.”

“She let me think he didn’t want me.”

Bennett closed his eyes.

There it was.

The wound beneath all the others.

Not the murder.

Not even the lie.