AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly. I have resources you don’t.”
“I can’t ask you for help. Okay, any more help. You’ve done the biggest thing, and that’s making sure that Michael is safe. I just—”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
“I ... I ... no.” She pressed her palms to her eyes, her inner struggle a tangible thing.
He reached across the table and snagged her hands, grateful she didn’t pull away. “Nothing’s going to happen to me if you let me help.”
Her hands fisted in his grasp. “You don’t know that.”
Vince studied her. “Okay, that’s true. I don’t. But I do know that if something happens to me, it won’t be because I chose to help you. God’s in control of all that. Not you.”
????
Raina blinked at the matter-of-fact statement, letting his words sink in while she processed. Heat climbed into her cheeks. And maybe that was the problem. She didn’t want God to be in control, because God seemed to fail her at just about every turn. And she couldn’t trust that God would keep Vince safe. Or that she could trust her judgment when it came to trusting another man. But something kept her turning to God even when she didn’t want to. Why was that? Because he kept chasing after her to do so. He hadn’t given up on her like she’d given up on him? Feeling body-slammed by the thoughts, she nevertheless kept her face neutral and chose her response carefully. “I know,” she said. “Mentally. Unfortunately, my heart seems to believe something else.”
“Well, we both know the heart can be deceitful, don’t we?”
“Yes,” she said, “yes, we do know that.” Raina couldn’t believe she was spilling all her secrets to Vincent Covelli. Okay, maybe notallof them, but close enough. But she didn’tdothat.Ever.
Just walk away. Go getin your car and end this conversation now.
But ... for some reason, she didn’t want to do what came naturally. Easily. Instinctively.
Not tonight.
Not with Vince.
And maybe not even with God. She’d have to think about that one a bit more.
She huffed a short laugh. “I must be more shook than I thought. I haven’t even told my best friends about that time in my life.”
His eyes widened slightly. “Oh. Really?”
“Yes. Really.” She tried to decipher the look on his face and settled for stunned.
He cleared his throat. “I’m ... uh ... honored you’d share with me.”
Raina forced herself not to fidget. “You sharing about your sister helped. I’m so sorry you went through that, but it makes me feel like you really do understand.”
“I do.”
They fell silent for a moment. Then she looked at him. “I’m asking you for help, aren’t I? In a non-asking way.”
His lips curved into a sweet smile. One that she wouldn’t mind kissing off his face. The heat that had faded was back and climbed into her cheeks again.No, no, no, no, no. She wouldnotgo there. After the number Kevin had done on her, she’d sworn off anything related to relationships and men. And yet, there was something about Vince that—
“How do you know Kevin Anderson isn’t his real name?” he finally asked.
Raina cleared her throat and pulled her thoughts back on track. “Because my stepfather—and the private investigator he hired—tried to track him down and came up empty. The man I called Sunday night from Julianna’s kitchen is friends with my stepfather and the PI he used.” She waved a hand. “I couldn’t find the PI’s number, so I called Trent to see if he could help. He called me while I was sitting in the parking lot and told me not to call him again.”
“Why?”
“He thinks Kevin is still somehow monitoring his calls.” And this is where she’d like to quit talking, but ... “It’s a little confusing on the timeline, but shortly before I was going to be released from the hospital, Kevin sent little mementos to several people in my life. Pictures of their loved ones with threats that if anyone helped keep me from him, they’d die.”
Vince frowned and leaned forward. “It’s blowing my mind that no one’s ever tracked this guy down.”
