Her parents paid his salary via her trust fund, just as they handled all her security.But she paid the men extra as a thank you.She had too much money.More than she knew what to do with, and they had no life.It was all about her.All focused on her safety.That required a recompense she couldn’t offer, but she had the money and willingly shared it with them as a poor form of gratitude.
Still, that hadn’t been enough for Jamie.
It never was.For anyone.
God, why did she even bother anymore?
She shuddered and covered her face with her hands.When she felt a slickness on her skin, she whimpered.She had blood on her too, but she hadn’t realized.
Ryan shifted in his seat and tried to approach her, but she held up her hands.“Don’t come near me.”Then, he flinched, and she sensed the agony her words caused him—sensed it like she was feeling it herself, and what the fuck was that about?El demanded instead, “What the hell are you?”
“I’m a Shifter,” he told her softly.
“He’s also the man who saved our asses, El,” Shawn barked.“I don’t know what the fuck you are, dude, but thank you.”
A kind of macho meeting of eyes took place in the rearview mirror, and Ryan nodded, apparently appreciating the thanks.
Her bottom lip trembled as she whispered, “Thank you.”
“You’re more than welcome, mate.”
A shiver rushed through her.“Is this like…Truebloodor something?”she asked as queasiness threatened to have her puking on her once favorite dress.
His lips twitched.“Kind of.”
“Kind of?”She gulped.“I’ve never been into paranormal romance.”
Shawn snorted.“No, just every other kind.”
El flushed.“Aren’t you supposed to be worrying about who’s tailing us?”
He laughed.“We lost them, baby, don’t worry.”
She sighed with relief, then bit her lip when she saw Ryan frown at the endearment.Unsure what to say, she whispered, “What are we doing now?”
“We have to call the cops, El.”
Heart sinking, shoulders hunching, she nodded.
“You can do that from my compound,” Ryan directed, and Shawn’s brows rose in response.
“Seriously?”
“Y-You want to get involved in this?”she asked, her voice breathy now.
“You’re my mate, El.There isn’t even a question of my not being involved in this.Everything you do is my business.”
Whoa.
Her mouth worked, but Shawn beat her to it.“How far are we from your… compound?”
He’d picked up on that word too, huh.Trust Shawn to know what was going on while she was trying to reconcile exactly what the hell was happening to her.
“Ten minutes if you take the next turning.It’s another shortcut.”He waited until a sign appeared on the horizon.“That’s the one but pull over when you take it.There’s a byroad.It’s quiet.You can park.”
Shawn took it, then pulled over as Ryan had suggested.In those moments, he’d been on his phone, texting.She’d seen it from the corner of her eye, but every time she looked, blood smeared on the screen and she wanted to hyperventilate once more.
“Why did we pull over?”
