“I know you’ve been through hell, not just today. I suspect you’ve been going through hell for a lot of days.”
She snorts.
“Okay, more than a lot of days,” I admit. “Will you let me help you?”
“Nobody helps other people without wanting something in return.”
Fuck. “I do. All the time.”
She glares at me. “When was the last time you did something for nothing?”
“Multiple times today. For one thing, the woman who’s married to that scumbag has been hiding under the protection of the man who cut the ropes off you. His name is Blade. She came to our offices in Seattle for help, and we’ve done everything in our power to keep her safe. She owes us nothing.”
My angel blinks. My angel?
I shrug. “It’s what we do. Yes, we have clients who can afford our services and pay us well, but we also take cases where the person can’t pay us.”
She swallows. “You drove two hours to save me…for nothing?”
“Not for nothing. We did it for the gratification of knowing we saved an innocent person’s life.”
“How do you know I’m innocent?”
“Well, I can’t be sure you’re innocent of every imaginable infraction on Earth, but I know you didn’t ask that asshole to tie you to a chair and terrorize you, and you didn’t deserve his wrath.”
She looks down again, setting her chin on her knees. “Maybe I did deserve it,” she whispers.
“I don’t believe that.” I really don’t. I think this woman is so emotionally beaten that she’s convinced she’s not worthy of kindness, and suddenly I feel a tug on my heartstrings that insists I prove otherwise. Might be a tough hill.
“Can I go now?” she asks.
“Go where, angel? Do you want to get out of my car and walk away? You said Stark picked you up on the side of the road. How far is it to your car? Plus, you still don’t have any gas.”
“It’s only a few miles to town. I planned to get a job there. He said there’s a diner. Hopefully they’re hiring.”
I lean back, trying to remain calm. I hate the bind she’s in, and I don’t want to make it worse by scaring her. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let her get out of my SUV and start walking, though. And I still don’t think she would be physically capable.
I’ll earn her trust better by not insisting she stay. “Angel, I’m never going to make you do anything you don’t want to do, but I get the sense you could really use a break, and I’m offering it to you.”
“How? What are you going to do? If you really want to help me, I need five dollars’ worth of gas and a ride to my car. That way I could at least drive to the next town and put some distance between me and…today’s mistakes.”
She adds that last part as though she makes mistakes every day, and being taken hostage by a deranged lunatic is just par for the course. My chest tightens.
“I can do that for you. However, I’m hoping you’ll let me do more than that. I’m too much of a gentleman to leave a woman on the side of the road with nothing but enough gasoline to get to the next town. I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Where would you sleep tonight?”
She rolls her eyes. “In my car, where I sleep every night.”
I cringe. “How long have you been sleeping in your car, angel?”
“Why do you care?” Her voice is filled with mistrust and sarcasm.
“Because that’s how I’m wired. Good men don’t just leave women alone with no money, no food, and no place to sleep.”
She glances at me. “And what do you propose? Want to drop me off at the nearest motel? Would you feel better if you bought me a burger and a night in a real bed?”
This time, I get the impression she’s actually salivating over the suggestion.
“I’d feel better if you came home with me and slept in my guest room so I can help you get back on your feet,” I say without thinking, but I realize I mean every word.
