“I did it to survive!” I wail. “You don’t know what it’s like to go hungry or without water or electricity.” I fight back the ugly sobs wracking through my body. This beautiful day went to shit real fast. “You don’t know what it’s like to not know if you’re going to be raped or beaten when you walk through the door. All I wanted was to get my GED and get the hell out of Whiskey Rivers so I could do better for myself.”
I turn to walk away but he grabs my wrist, “Let me go! Please!” I beg.
He grabs my other wrist “Maya, stop. Look at me.” I try to look up, but his face is blurred by my tears. “I’m just laying some ground rules. While you’re here, you won’t want or need for anything and you damn sure won’t be performing any favors to get it. Everyone has a past, but that won’t be your future. Even after you leave here, got it?” He pulls me in close to his body.
“Yes. Please let me go.” I don’t want him to see me cry.
“You have to promise me you won’t run off, you can’t run when things get tough.” His grip loosens but he doesn’t let me go.
“Why do you keep repeating everything you’ve already told me? I hear you the first time.” I sniff, trying to calm my sobs.
“Your actions suggest otherwise. You can either stop trying to run from everything or you can listen to me drill it into your head over and over again. Your therapist and Ethan both said you were making improvements, show me. Relax, dry your tears, stand tall, and get your emotions under control. I’m not shaming you for surviving.”
“It’s different with them, they make me comfortable.”
“I’m here to shake up your comfort zone—life is not comfortable, cupcake. I will push you until you’re able to conquer the world on your own. Tomorrow we’ll discuss what you will be doing undercover, how you’ll do it, and your new training schedule. For now, promise me you’ll come to me if you need something and not do anything out of desperation—ever again.”
I look in his eyes like he asks. “I promise.” He has me in such an intimate position while holding me close to him. I try not to look too much into it, but I can’t help but think he does actually care for my wellbeing.
“Good. I’m going to put food on the grill. You can swim in the pool if you want.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit.” I don’t about to tell him I can’t swim, he will drag me in the pool next.
“Swimsuits are optional, not a requirement.” And there goes that million-dollar smile with a wink. He finally lets go ofmy wrists and steps back, leaving me wishing he was still touching me.
It’s a short walk back to the deck. I scoop up a sleeping Squeak and head to my room. I need a break from everything that just happened. I’m questioning if I’m ready to do whatever it is he wants me to do.
“Trust me.”A phrase that seems like such a common paradox in my world. Trust is earned and not given. Can I so blindly follow him and his plans for me when my history with men is so dark?
If it was Ethan, it would be much easier. I had the best time working with him on the farm. Sure, he made inappropriate comments but there was never any tension or invasion of my boundaries.
Nick pushes every boundary, limit, and ounce of sanity I have left. He never said how he knows Kaleb.
I’m not sure I want to know.
Chapter 21
Nick
“Scroll in. Well, well, well, this motherfucker has some explaining to do.” Son of a bitch. I slam my coffee mug down on the table.
Ethan zooms in, making the image on the screen a little blurry but I can’t mistake that ugly, pock-marked face. “Friend of yours?”
It took him a couple days but he finally hacked into the gas station security cameras from where Marcus picked up Mommy Dearest and two trafficked females.
I glare at him. “No, but I’m working a pro bono case for him.” Fucking bastard. He’s going down—six feet down, lying parallel to the ground in an eternal slumber.
“Why?” He gives me an incredulous look.
“Not because he is a human trafficker, that’s for damn sure. Because he’s from Whiskey Rivers, and I wanted the lowdown on the girl’s family.”
“When are you going to stop referring to her as ‘the girl’? She has a name.” He shovels a bite of egg in his mouth.
“When you learn to mind your business.” I pour myself another cup of coffee.
He clenches his jaw but doesn’t make another comment. He really has a soft spot for her.
“What are you going to do about him?” He points to Kaleb’s pic on the screen.
