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And I have to keep the secret.
My heart clenches.
I couldn’t stop it, Daddy. I couldn’t protect us. And now Charly’s dead.
The driver pulls up to the emergency room and slows to a stop. “Take her inside, give her some money, and say goodbye.”
I can feel Blue Eyes stiffen against me. The truth is, I’m scared to death to be left alone right now. But I’m even more scared of the fact that I don’t want this guy to leave me because admitting that confirms that I’m as weak as those killers thought I’d be.
And I can’t be that girl. I’ve been sheltered for my entire life, and tonight it could have ended if these guys hadn’t shown up to save me.
No. I refuse to be that girl ever again.
He opens the door and lifts me out of the car before getting out himself.
“You don’t have to do this alone. Don’t listen to my brother. I never do.”
“You don’t even know what you’re offering.”
“I don’t really care. I want to help.”
My heart thrashes in my chest. I stare up at him. It’s the first time I really take a long, hard look at the guy who rescued me. God, he’s tall. I don’t know how he managed to fit in that tiny Porsche at all, much less with me on his lap.
The moonlight makes the top of his dark-blond hair glow. I drink in every inch of him. He is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. And a Good Samaritan, too.
But this is where we end.
The driver rolls down the window. “Hey, sweetheart,” he calls out, startling me. He waves a piece of paper out the window. “This is the address of that building. I doubt you’ll find anything there because those kinds of places move constantly. But maybe you’ll get some clues that can help track down the people responsible.”
I lean toward the window to take the paper and the driver gives a look to Blue Eyes, who’s behind me.
“Thanks.” I swallow hard and turn back around, ignoring the butterflies that swarm when his eyes capture mine. “Look, I know you probably think I’m a helpless little princess. And I’m very sure some lucky girl would love to have you ride up on a white horse and carry her away from this hell. But I’m not her. You and I aren’t the same. We don’t live in the same world. And in my world, there are no Prince Charmings.”
With a throbbing pulse and wobbly legs, I take a few steps toward the revolving glass door, leaving Blue Eyes behind me.
I stop just before pushing open the door and look over my shoulder at him one last time. His deflated expression makes my heart free-fall into my sneakers. “Just leave and forget you ever met me. Otherwise, you might end up dead, too.”
Chapter4
Quinn
SEVEN YEARS LATER
Irun down the shiny lacquered gym floor at the YMCA in Hell’s Kitchen, dribbling the basketball like the fucking exhibitionist I am. I bounce it between my knees, twisting and turning so fast that none of the high school kids can touch me. My sneakers squeak on the floor as I dart down the court, sinking a perfect layup.
Swish!
“Show-off,” Eric, one of the kids, mutters.
I grin. “Hey, don’t hate because I’ve got skill.”
Kevin, the quietest of the bunch, lurches forward and grabs the ball from me. “Not all the skill.” Then he takes off toward the basket on the opposite end of the court, the other kids on his heels.
Massimo Marrone, one of the founders of Sportsocity, an after-school program we run for underprivileged neighborhood kids, smirks at me. “You’re always one-upping someone, yeah? Even kids half your age.”
I shrug. “Gotta keep ’em sharp and on their toes. You never know when the rug’s about to be pulled out from under you.”
And I know from experience.
