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When Matias got sick, I had known it was only a matter of time before he died, and then there would be no one left to protect me from Manuel. The beatings…and other abuse…had gotten worse with each passing day. Once his father passed, Manuel would have done anything to get his hands on my portion of the inheritance, which would have meant he would have tried to marry me. And then once he had the business shares and money in his grasp, I would have been useless to him.
It had been only a matter of time until he killed me. But Nova snuck me out of the hotel my stepbrother kept me locked in while he was at the hospital every day with Matias, gave me her credit card, and told me where to go to get the help I needed to heal from that last beating that had left me with a broken jaw and even more emotional scars than ever before.
There was no way I could ever repay Nova for what she’d done for me, or the people at Salvation who’d had a hand in helping me heal afterward.
Warm, rough fingers touched my cheek, and I flinched away from the contact on instinct. Garret instantly dropped his hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I swallowed down the knot of emotion that always filled my throat whenever I thought about the events of the previous summer. “I-it’s okay. I was just lost in some old memories.”
It was dark in the back of the SUV except for the passing lights of other vehicles and streetlamps. One flashed over his face when I lifted my eyes to look at him, and I saw his green orbs darken with an emotion I didn’t understand. “Obviously, they were bad memories,” he said in a gentle tone. “Who hurt you, Lis?”
He’d asked me that earlier in the evening as well, and I hadn’t answered him then. But for some reason, I found I couldn’t keep the words locked away this time. “My stepbrother,” I said with a shrug. “It got so bad that I eventually ran away from home.”
“Does that mean you’re all alone in the city?”
“I don’t have any family left,” I answered, instead of telling him the pathetic truth that I had zero people I could rely on in NYC. At least until Nova moved to the East Coast permanently. If she moved here. From the last few times I’d spoken to her since her birthday, I wasn’t so sure if she was still going to make the move. She hadn’t confided in me, but I’d gotten the impression that her relationship with Ryan was up in the air.
If she stayed in Creswell Springs, then I would continue to be all alone. It was fine. I was used to not having anyone I could trust or depend on. I’d been taking care of myself ever since my mom had gotten sick. Matias had been a decent stepfather, and I’d never doubted that he cared about me, but the loss of my mother had destroyed something in him. Even before he’d died, he hadn’t truly been present.
“What about friends?” Garret persisted.
“None that live in New York.” I realized that telling him just how alone I was could be dangerous, so I was quick to mention Kim. “I have a roommate, though. We watch out for each other.” That was a huge lie. The only thing she watched out for was the money I contributed to the bills.
“You need more than just one person watching out for you,” he muttered unhappily. “I don’t like you being without security. I’ll have to assign one of my men as your bodyguard.” He grunted, his face scrunching up in concentration. “I don’t trust any of those fuckers not to try something with you, though. I’ll speak to Ryan about it, get you one of his most trusted men to—”
“I don’t need a damn bodyguard,” I snapped at him, crossing my arms angrily over my chest. “I’ve been doing just fine on my own since moving here at the end of the summer.”
No way was I going to tell him about getting my purse snatched. He didn’t need to know that. He was already talking crazy, and if I mentioned the mugging, he was likely to lose his shit. I’d had all I could handle with guys going ballistic at the least little thing.
“Don’t argue with me on this, blue eyes,” he growled. “How am I supposed to sleep at night if you aren’t protected when I’m not around?”
“Easily,” I huffed. “You are just some guy I wait on at the club. We mean nothing to each other, Garret.”
He balled his hands into fists, and I tensed, waiting for the first blow. But instead of lifting them to strike me, he flexed his fingers before popping each knuckle one at a time. “Don’t say shit like that, Lis. I know you feel something for me. What’s between us, this chemistry, it’s too strong for it to be one-sided.”
I turned my head, looking out the side window, hiding away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit,” he snapped. “Pretending is for little kids, and we’re both grown-ass adults. Tell the truth. Admit it. Out loud. You like me coming into the club every night. You like that my eyes are always on you. You enjoy driving me fucking crazy with jealousy by touching those bastards who think they actually have a chance with you. But we both know they don’t. Because the truth is, you want me.”
“I—”
“Don’t. Lie.” He grasped my waist and pulled me onto his lap. I went as still as a statue, scared of what was about to happen, yet oddly turned on to the point that my panties had become uncomfortably wet.
Another first for me. I’d thought Manuel’s abuse had killed those kinds of urges and needs in me. But as Garret placed me so that I was straddling his lap, and I felt his hardness flex against my core, I had to bite my tongue to hold back a moan.
Holding me in place with one hand curved over my ass, he lifted the other to tenderly tip my head back. “I’m not going to hurt you, Lis. Fuck, I just want to be near you. We can take things as slowly as you want, but please, just give me—us—a chance.”
Garret
Lis remained silent as we stepped off the elevator on her floor. I stayed back a few steps, allowing her to lead the way to her apartment. It wasn’t the worst part of the city, but the security in the place left a lot to be desired. There hadn’t been a doorman, but at least it didn’t have those damn intercom things that went to each apartment. Too many lazy people in the world would let anyone they didn’t know into the building just to stop someone from constantly buzzing them until they got what they wanted.
And then those freaks could easily get in and hurt Lis.
I was already making notes on the upgrades that needed to be made to the place. Doorman. Better lock on the front door. Cameras—everywhere. It wouldn’t take more than a day to get everything taken care of, even though it was New Year’s Eve. I just had to call Ryan and get one of the tech guys over there to make it happen.
Lis stopped in front of an unmarked door. I’d been so focused on the security updates that I’d completely missed the fact that none of the apartments was actually marked. That was just as unsafe as the lack of a doorman. What if she had an emergency and needed EMT assistance? They couldn’t readily identify where she was, and that was unacceptable.
Whoever owned the building would be getting a visit, that was for fucking sure.
