AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shit, I’d been holding his hand too long, like it was a life raft in a whirling river, with deadly currents about to drag me under. There was something so comforting about him. He looked so capable and self-assured. He was warm and clean, and smelled good too. I tried to imagine being that strong, so strong and intimidating that no one could ever fuck with you. I longed for that feeling, even as I knew I would never experience it.
I’d been born to burrow downward into extra levels of crap. If someone like Bennet was a lion, king of his jungle, then I was some kind of beetle who couldn’t survive in the light.
As I went to drop Bennet’s hand, he held on. I raised my eyes to his, confused. His gray gaze wasn’t on mine, however, it was fixed on my arm, specifically the place where Brian’s hand was gripping me. The slight whitening of my skin was the only sign of how hard Brian’s fingers were burrowing into my flesh. My stepfather was an expert at not leaving a mark. It was his true talent.
Brian seemed to take in what was happening, and suddenly let go. Blood coursed back down my arm and into my tingling fingers. Bennet released my hand at the sight, and I sagged, feeling caught between two opposing forces of sheer alpha energy.
“Since you’re a low flight risk, Bennet has agreed that being at home with me is guarantee enough,” Brian started, and didn’t get far before Bennet interrupted.
“I’m afraid, Mr. Lavin, upon closer examination of the case, my team has reconsidered the security needs. We will have to have a presence in the house,” Bennet said. My heart felt like it was rising in my chest, buoyed by hope.
Brian laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “I’m afraid that doesn’t work for me, Mr. Archer. We agreed that no presence in the home would suffice,” Brian started.
Bennet rocked back on his heels, seeming to grow taller by the second. “And now I’m changing that plan. It’s my money on the line, after all. Besides, my team’s presence will ensure your own safety as well. Don’t forget what your daughter is accused of,” Bennet said.
“Stepdaughter,” I said faintly. It was such a knee-jerk reaction. I didn’t pause to think about it.
Bennet blinked down at me, and then nodded. “Stepdaughter, my apologies. Now, if we are done with the pleasantries, I’d like to get started home,” he said and turned away with an air of authority that was impossible to argue with. As he shifted, I got a glimpse of his gun, holstered at his hip, as well as handcuffs and what looked like a taser.
My throat grew tight at the image of this man coming after a client who had failed to appear. He looked lethal enough without the weapons.
Brian was pissed. It was clear in every line of his body. That alone made me like Bennet Archer even more. Then, when we got to his huge SUV, he insisted I sit in the front beside him, and I liked him even more.
He helped me up and even put on my seatbelt. As he did, he leaned across me, and I got a good, strong inhale of his tanned neck. The clean, masculine scent made my head swim.
“You good there, Laura?” he asked, turning his head to meet my eyes, his face still only inches away. My mouth went dry as a desert. I nodded. “Tell me if you need anything.” His words were like a command I couldn’t imagine arguing with.
He rounded the vehicle and got into the driver’s seat. Another of his team got in the back behind me. No doubt this was some kind of security protocol, but I felt safer, even from Brian sitting a metre away.
As we drove, I looked out the front and enjoyed the weak sunshine. It was the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Leaves were turning, and a mist of imminent rain hung in the air. I usually loved fall. The start of the school year and the end of summer were always my happiest times. Summer had been the hardest, stuck at home with Brian, day in and day out. Nights were the worst since my mother had died. There was no balance in those hot, excruciating days, when the air conditioning blasted and the smells of barbeques filled the air. Laughter always floated into my room from outside, and I imagined I lived in a bubble, a single, floating horror of a bubble, and could only press my nose against the shiny surface and see other families, happily at home together. In those days, the lines between day and night bled. Sometimes Brian’s friends visited during the day as well. I couldn’t stand summer, but fall? That was my time.
Now, I thought of people getting ready to return to college, packing up cars and preparing to drive to dorms, or start internships in the city. All that life, rushing around like bubbles escaping from a top. Frothy and fun, and nothing like my life.
“I saw you used to work at The Drip,” Bennet said beside me, making conversation. Right, my part-time job at the local coffee shop had been fun, until Brian had made me quit. He didn’t like me coming home late or interacting with my male co-workers, most of whom had been older than me.
“Yeah, the coffee is good there,” I muttered.
“But you quit?”
I turned to him, surprised by his questioning tone. “I didn’t need the money. It wasn’t fair to take the job from someone who did.” I repeated Brian’s lines like I’d thought of them myself. I’d always been a good little parrot until I wasn’t. “You don’t have to pretend to be interested in me, Mr. Archer, or make small talk. I like silence just fine.”
“Every after where you’ve been, you still prefer silence? I’d have thought the last few weeks would have given you your fill,” Bennet said.
I shrugged. “Don’t you know? Children should be seen, and not heard,” I muttered sardonically, my Brian’s voice ringing in my head.
Bennet inclined his head toward me and raised an eyebrow. “A questionable statement at best. Besides, it doesn’t apply to you. You’re not a child, Laura. You’re an adult woman, and if you want to talk about something to me, tell me something… anything… you can. I’m here.”
His deep, quiet words sank through my chest and settled somewhere near my heart. Like tiny coals, they warmed me in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. Sudden tears clutched at my throat, stealing my words. I blinked a sheen from my eyes, hands curling into fists to contain the wild emotions that a small and simple act of kindness could provoke in me.
But Bennet Archer was a stranger, and in business with Brian. He might look like a tough-as-nails, tattooed white knight, but I didn’t know him. I couldn’t afford to trust anyone but myself and Benji. Anything else was a risk I couldn’t take.
“Be careful, Mr. Archer. People might mistake great client service for sympathy with a wannabe murderer. Brian is your client, not me. Don’t get on his wrong side. It’s not worth it. Brian has a lot of influence in this town. I’m not worth pissing him off for, trust me.”
My voice was meant to sound blithe, with an edge of teasing, but also a warning to back off with his chivalrous empathy and good guy heroism. Instead, it sounded bitter. Brittle somehow, like an egg about to break. Bennet’s powerful hands flexed on the wheel, but he didn’t argue. The guy was just doing his job, after all. I was just another bail bond to post, another person pending trial to chaperone and make sure she showed at the hearing. It was just business to him. I shouldn’t forget that.
CHAPTER4
Bennet
