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I took a few more steps along the shoreline, and Zayne placed a hand on my lower back. Gasping from the tender place left from Ashkov’s brutal abuse, my foot slipped on a rock.
In one quick move, Zayne stepped into the water and caught me before I busted my ass.
“I’ve got you, Giselle.”
His words caressed me, and for just a moment, I was able to pretend that Donovan didn’t exist. Then reality crashed down on me. Donovan would have laughed, then punished me for being clumsy.
Zayne helped me to my feet, then led me the few steps to land.
I blew out a sigh, trying to cover up my response to Zayne’s touch. “I’m so sorry. Your shoes and slacks are soaked.”
“It’s my fault, I should have just waded in with you. Since you were staying so close to shore, I wanted to remain here in case anyone drove up.”
With each step to the blanket, Zayne’s shoes squirted water in the air. An uncontrollable giggle escaped me. “I shouldn’t be laughing, but you’re a bit waterlogged.”
“It’s fine. I’ll dry.” He knelt on the blanket and removed his shoes and socks before standing again, placing his hands on my shoulders, and gently turning me away from him.
My world screeched to a halt with his next words. Fear paralyzed me as I struggled to tell my body to walk away. Under no circumstances could Zayne see my back.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I swear. Please let me see.” He gently untucked my teal tank shirt from my shorts, but I couldn’t fucking move. I was rooted in place, my mind torn between begging him to see the wound and pleading with him to stop.
Zayne lifted the back of my shirt, then gently removed part of the bandage. A guttural growl escaped him.
The sound broke me from my trance, and I whirled around. My hand flew through the air, slapping his cheek. “Don’t you ever do that again.” Seething, I returned to the water and retrieved my sandals before I stomped off to the car. “Take me home, bodyguard. And remember what you’re hired to do.”
24
Zayne
Goddammit!
I’d fucked up and moved too fast with her. But fucking Christ, what I’d seen on her back chilled me to the bone. Although I desperately wanted to convince myself otherwise, it was clearly a fading burn.
I scrambled to collect my shoes and socks, then hurried after Giselle. Stepping in front of her, I blocked the way to the car, planning to talk fast. Hell, if she was pissed at me already, I had nothing to lose.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I had no right to touch you, but your reaction earlier. Did Donovan burn you? I know you’re not going to answer me, but at least listen. If he’s hurting you, then I can understand why you hate me for saving you, but there’s a way out. I swear, Giselle. I can help you get away from the bastard and start a new life. I’ve tried to prove that you can trust me.” I stared at her, but her anger was still firmly in place. “I just needed to say that before we reached the car.”
Giselle remained silent and stony as she hopped into the Mercedes and fastened the seatbelt. Her attention remained straight ahead as I slid into the driver’s side.
Starting the car, I hoped she would take what I’d said to heart. I wanted her to think it through and let me get her the fuck out of that house and away from that asshole.
The simmering anger rolled into a full boil as I drove us home, Giselle’s wound imprinted on my mind.
Half an hour later, I pulled up to Giselle’s home. She still hadn’t spoken to me, but I hadn’t expected her to even if the Mercedes wasn’t still bugged. Just because I offered to take her away from her hell didn’t mean she would run into my arms and pepper my face with kisses, thanking me profusely. Whatever Giselle had lived through, it had her by the throat, and I suspected that she was more terrified to leave than stay. Regardless, I only had a small window to convince her she could be free of the abuse.
One week.
I turned off the engine, then we got out of the car. Giselle walked slowly, then stopped far enough away that the listening device wouldn’t hear her.
“It wasn’t Donovan,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “No more questions, bodyguard.”
Stunned, I had more questions that I’d started with, but even I could tell Giselle was at her limit for sharing. And truth be told, so was I. Unfortunately, when nightfall arrived, and I was cloaked in darkness, the memories of Chelsey would ambush me again. At least I had Giselle as a distraction. She knew that Donovan had ordered me to sit in her room while she slept. This time I didn’t disagree with the son of a bitch. Even I was afraid that she might try and take her life again after her reaction earlier at the lake. But no fucking way would I allow that to happen on my watch.
Her words ran on a loop in my head.It wasn’t Donovan.Then who the fuck was hurting her, and why wasn’t Donovan stopping it? Or did he know? Regardless if those were his marks on her skin or not, I couldn’t stand the way he was rough and controlling.
I resisted the urge to throw Giselle over my shoulder and run, taking her away from this place to where she could feel protected and I could coax the truth out of her.
Hours ticked by as I struggled to fit the puzzle together, but there were still too many missing pieces.
