AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You okay?”
She nodded and pushed the door all the way open. Her chocolate eyes swept over me, starting at my face and shifting down so slowly I nearly felt the heat from the intensity of her stare.
It may have well been her hands touching me for how my body responded to her inspection. I needed to calm the hell down. Right now.
“You’re doing great.” I stepped forward, wanting to reach for her so badly.
She eased back, but then came forward, halving the distance. The hesitation and fear in her eyes triggered my protective nature. Instantly, I was pissed at whatever had caused this beautiful woman to doubt her strength. Her worth. Her…life.
She tugged her long sleeve over her left hand and poked her thumb through the crafted hole. There wasn’t much of her skin exposed at all, but that didn’t take away from how stunning she was.
“How far are we going into the lobby tonight?” I asked. I needed to stay focused on the task. No distractions. I’d survived plenty of cage fights by my sheer will not to be distracted, staying focused. I could here, too.
She smiled, and the full effect nearly flattened me. No distorted video to douse this bright grin anymore. I’d have to see it live and in person from now on. Video chat would no longer work for this guy.
“I want…to walk through it.” Her eyes held so much hope, I couldn’t help but nod. I saw the strength bubbling in again. She was determined. Sure, there was fear in her eyes, and it tensed her full lips into thin lines, but she could do this. Shewoulddo this, and I was going to help her. “Tell me what you need.”
“Walk…with me?”
“Of course. Tell me how close. You’re in control.” I motioned toward the elevator at the end of the hall. She’d told me it was exactly eleven steps for her to get to the elevator. “One step at a time.”
She nodded again and stepped out far enough for her door to shut behind her. I noticed in her right hand, she held her phone, and with her left hand, she patted behind her. Probably had the key fob in her back pocket like she’d had when I’d found her.
She came beside me, keeping a foot between us, and looked up at me. “I think I remember seeing your eyes that night…just a glimpse, but I wasn’t sure. And since then, I’d always wondered what they’d look like in person.”
“And?”
“Just like I remember: On the sunniest day, right after sunrise, the sky takes on a violet blue color. A calming, beautiful blue-sky sunrise.”
I was about as calm as a tsunami. Not once in my life had I been referred to as calm. Words like violent, destructive, angry, and uncontrolled were usually associated with me. But with her…none of that surfaced.
She smiled. “I like your eyes.”
“Yours aren’t too bad, either. Though I’m not good enough with words to describe them other than stunning.” I glanced at her fisted hand at her side. “You okay?”
“Almost.” She grinned. “I can’t help but worry you must think I’m such a loser.”
“I only see strength.” I glanced at the elevator. Only a few more steps to go. “Am I pressing the button or you?”
She stopped, put her palm against the wall, and her eyes closed. “Sober. Let’s Get The Party Started. Try.”
I watched her as she named more songs and smiled. She was fighting through the fear. I saw it in her flexed jaw and her furrowed brows. “I’ve always liked Sober. That might be my favorite of hers.”
“Recovering addict, are you?” She grinned and her eyes were still closed.
“Maybe.”
“And you work in a bar? That’s not promising, Hunter.”
My name coming from her lips clicked something into place, deep in my dense noggin. It was perfect. Like it felt now that I was beside her, helping her overcome her fear. I was going to be here for her like I hadn’t been for my mom. Like I hadn’t been for Isabelle. For every woman I hadn’t been able to protect from Dad’s wrath.
I’d dedicated my life to protecting people—women—from asshole men who threw their weight around like bullies, but when it came to Lina, she took the prize.
I would help her if it was the last thing I did.
“I’ll push the button.” She stepped away from the wall and opened her eyes again. “I’m good.” Two long strides ate up the final feet to the elevator door, and she stabbed the button with her forefinger. “I checked the camera before coming out here, it’s pretty calm down there, but not totally empty.”
“Well, it’s not two in the morning.”
