“It’d be nice if you’d stop giving me reasons.”
I have enough of them without her stupid ideas, now with the added flavor of every man who Rhett ever wronged getting word about Hailey holding the key to his downfall.
They’ll want the evidence. Some will think it’ll secure their freedom, some, that it’ll send Rhett down for life, some will use it as blackmail. And the one thing they all need to get their hands on the file Alex assembled is the one thing I’ll never let them have...
Hailey.
???
Sunrise isn’t far off by the time the ambulance crew have checked Hailey over and we’ve both answered the sergeant’s questions.
It’s unnerving how deep Hailey’s hold on me reaches. How quickly she’s become an obsession chewing my mind, heart, and fucking soul. She’s mine to care for, mine to shield from the world, harm, men like Jensen, and... men likeme.
I’m the villain in disguise, but she doesn’t know that... and as I climb the narrow staircase to her room, her trust weighs heavier than her delicate frame.
Half of me—the half that’s only for her—whispers that I should come clean and face the consequences.
The darker half, the one steeped in blood, silences it quickly.
“I should keep you under lock and key,” I grit out, adjusting my hold to free one hand and open her bedroom door.
My room doesn’t have a bathtub.
And her diary’s here.
I’ve only been gone one day. She probably hasn’t written much, but my time with Hailey at Lakeside is no longer unlimited. The news about the evidence will spread like wildfire if it hasn’t already and, soon, she won’t be safe here.
She won’t be safe anywhere unless I’m with her.
37
Hailey
“Why did you go looking for him?” Nash asks, leaning against the bathroom doorframe.
I’m in the bathtub, surrounded by bubbles, my skin pink, exhaustion pulling me into a dream-like state while I slowly rinse my hair, picking out twigs.
He’s watching me like a hawk, eyes tracing the scratches marking my cheeks, his annoyance palpable in the steamy air.
“What do you meanwhy? I couldn’t let Chloe go alone.”
“Chloe’s an adult and Jensen’s not your friend.”
“But Chloeis. I don’t consider Jensen a friend, but he’s missing. Why wouldn’t I help look for him?”
Nash snatches a towel off the door then helps me out of the tub. “Because he’s a sleazy fucker who wants to tick you off his list, Hailey.”
He wraps the towel around me as soon as my feet touch the cold tiles, his big hands moving up and down, drying me off. He makes quick work of my back, then takes extra care overmy breasts, stomach, and my pussy. A soft gasp falls from my lips, the feel of his fingers—even through the thick, soft towel—pressing into my clit, chases the sleepiness away.
“He wants to fuck you,” Nash adds.
“So do you.”
“That’s not the same. He doesn’t get to think you could be his. He doesn’t get to look at you.”
A sweet shudder shakes me when the towel falls off and it’s just Nash’s fingers playing my clit.
“I probably shouldn’t love that you’re so jealous. I don’t want Jensen. I wantyou, but—”
