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The sight of her was still breathtaking despite the bruises around her eye and her lovely neck. I wanted to strangle the fecker again as I imagined him inflicting pain.
She cradled one hand and I almost asked what else had been done to her. But in her eyes, I saw the weariness. She’d probably had to explain it a thousand times, so I let it go for now.
Tendrils of hair hung loosely around her face. My foot almost moved in her direction. Touching her would be a mistake, one that we couldn’t indulge.
Her dress looked intact, which only reminded how close we’d come to not getting her in time.
Anger flared in me, making my words come out in a growl. “You have some decisions to make.”
Her body froze and I knew she had misinterpreted my anger to be directed at her. I continued, “Once the media gets wind of this, they will swarm this place like minion ants. You don’t need to be near here when that happens. Your lawyer is on his way back to take a deposition.”
Her eyes grew into pools of white as shock set in. The instinct to protect kicked in. I wanted to hold her in my arms and tell her everything would be fine. That, however, wasn’t a part of the plan.
“That fucker worked for someone else.”
I waited for that to sink in. And then I saw it. She began to crumble with the impact of my words. I moved to catch her in mid-air before she hit the floor.
With her cheek pressed to my chest, she said the words, “This isn’t over. There’s someone else out there looking for me. He said as much.”
“Who?” I barked.
She shook her head. “The man who had me. He was turning me over to someone else.”
“It’s likely they’re aware of his failure… I have an offer.”
A knock came at the door, interrupting the rest of my statement. Bailey pulled away and I managed not to grab her and never let go.
She opened the door and Matt walked in with Turner on his heels.
“Have you told her?” Matt asked.
Irritated, I held my tongue until I could calm it. “Matt and I think you should go somewhere no one would ever look for you. A place where the media can’t find you.” I glanced between Turner and Bailey. “I’m offering for you to come to Scotland with me.”
Turner huffed, “Of course you are.”
Instead of giving voice to my annoyance, I faced Bailey. “It’s the same offer from the other night. Turner is welcome to join us.”
She glanced at him before giving me the full weight of sorrow in her eyes.
Gratefully, Matt jumped in. “There are advantages to leaving the country, Bailey. Most likely this won’t make global news.”
“Will they let me go?” she asked. I hated the desperation in her voice and that whatever part of her that arse had taken she might not ever get back.
“Your lawyer is a former prosecutor. He thinks that he can take a video deposition that will hold up in court during the grand jury phase if you are out of town. They’ve found a witness that saw him carry your limp body into the hotel room. At this point, they have enough evidence against him even without your testimony,” Matt said convincingly.
I watched Bailey shrink before me as Matt mentioned her limp body. She withered as if a year were a second. I wanted to hold her, to reassure her.
Turner was busy glaring at me because of my offer. I wanted to remind him that this wasn’t about him or me.
“Can I think about this?” she asked.
“Don’t take too long,” I said and crossed the room to the door. I had to get out before I said or did anything that betrayed my true feelings.
The girl I loved had chosen another. I didn’t look back because I couldn’t. If I saw any amount of pleading in her eyes, I might have tossed her over my shoulder to take what was mine. It’s too late for that. She’d chosen Turner over me, and I didn’t think I could ever forgive her for that.
Ten
The staccato beats of my heart were no rival for the turbulence of my emotions as I watched Kalen walk out the door, barely looking at me. Matt followed him. When I found Turner’s brown eyes, my heart wasn’t put at ease as it had been in the past.
I licked my suddenly dry lips before biting the lower one, unable to come up with something to say. Thank goodness he easily read me and folded me in his embrace.
In his warmth, I let out the torrent of emotions I hadn’t been able to with Kalen in the room.
It took a long time for me to surface from the feelings that had drowned me.
