Protect Me by Jessica Wayne & Heather Hildenbrand

Author:Jessica Wayne & Heather Hildenbrand [Wayne, Jessica & Hildenbrand, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: B.A.D. Publishing, LLC
Published: 2023-07-11T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Sway

By the time we reach my apartment, sleep is the last thing on my mind. Imagining Robert having a hand in my parents' deaths and then picturing his hired hunters in the crowd tonight is wreaking havoc on my mind, sending my heart racing in a potentially uncontrollable panic.

I barely escaped him the last time. In fact, I only got away because he’d been so busy with political matters that took him away from the room we were staying in. If it hadn’t been an emergency... I don’t want to think about where I’d be now. He so rarely left me alone that running from the embassy had been my only real chance.

How the hell am I supposed to do it again? How can I outsmart professional bounty hunters who have spent their lives training to track down those who do not wish to be found?

“What’s going on in your mind?”

I shift my gaze to Bracken, who has just shut my door behind us. “I’m worried,” I reply honestly. No sense in hiding anything now.

“We’ll keep you safe. As long as you let us.” He narrows his gaze on me.

“You’re worried I’m going to run.”

“You didn’t exactly put our minds at ease with your talk about leaving.”

“Knee-jerk reaction,” I assure him.

“You’ve changed your mind?”

“I’m saying it might not matter. I won’t survive if I run. Shit. I might not survive if I stay here, but at least, here—”

Bracken is across the room in the blink of an eye. He towers over me, staring down. “You will survive here. We won’t let anything happen to you, Sway.”

“You sure there’s a we anymore?” I ask. “Duncan seemed pretty pissed at me.”

“Duncan just wants you to trust us,” he assures me. “He’ll cool off, just give him some time.”

“Look, I know you’ll protect me,” I reply. “But who’s going to protect you? The man hunting me is dangerous, Bracken. He has contacts and hunters deep in his pockets. Any one of them could—”

Bracken cups the side of my face and pulls me toward him. “We’re resilient,” he says softly. “There’s not a man alive that I fear.”

“Just because you don’t fear something doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.” I can’t help the slight tremble at the memory of just how true my words are.

“What did he do to you, Sway?” he questions softly as he runs the pad of his thumb over my cheek.

I close my eyes against the onslaught of imagery I wish I could forget. “Too much,” I manage.

“Tell me.”

I pull away from him and put a few steps between us. “He beat me. But you already knew that.”

Bracken lets loose a low growl.

“He used and manipulated me. Pressured and forced me into doing things I didn’t want to...” I trail off then take a deep breath. “But as much as he tried, he didn’t break me.”

“No,” he agrees. “He didn’t.”

All the mental and physical abuse. Being gaslit and told I wasn’t worthy of love but he was going to give it to me anyway.

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