AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I don't regret what happened last night."
I flinch when he lifts his hand, but he doesn't strike me or even look frustrated that I thought he was going to hit me.
He cups my face, and the sadness in his eyes makes my own burn with unshed tears.
"What I'm having a hard time ignoring is the voice in my head telling me that what we're doing is toxic and bad and distracting. I'm not helping you by feeding that part of you that wants to isolate away from the world and not face the things that are hurting you."
I try to pull my face from his hand, but he brings his other one up to the opposite side of my face, locking me in place. The only way to get away from him is to close my eyes, but I can't seem to pull them from him.
They flutter closed on their own when he presses his forehead to mine.
"I want you, Brielle. I want to protect you and love you. I want to be the one standing beside you when you come out of this cocoon you've built around yourself. I want to watch you spread your wings and fly, even knowing that it means you leave me behind."
I pull back and look at him, tears rolling down my cheeks. He quickly dashes them away with his thumbs.
"I'm terrified I won't get the chance," he whispers.
There has to be some explanation for why he feels like this is all going to come to an end. I'm not walking away, and it sounds like he isn't either. There's an outside force working here, and I begin to tremble with thinking this is where he confesses that as much as he wants me, the need for the money he's been offered for my return to Nathan is greater.
"You're expected back in Ohio for a hearing," he says, his eyes searching mine for a reaction before continuing. "Nathan will be transferred from here back to Columbus. The plan is for Cerberus to go with you."
My heart rate quadruples as he speaks. There's no way I can go back to Ohio.
"Blackbridge Security will help us keep you safe," he says, a sadness in his eyes that I don't understand.
"Beck," I whisper as I shake my head.
He inches closer, holding both of my hands in his.
"You don't have to do this, Brielle. You don't have to go back. What Ohio has on him is flimsy at best, but if you refuse to testify to what you know, they won't even be able to get a grand jury indictment on him."
"I'm scared," I confess, once again feeling safe here with him now that I know what he's worried about.
"I know you are, baby. The choice is yours."
I want to be brave. I really do. I want to see him take his last breath after poison is pumped into his bloodstream, but I know the likelihood of that is slim. Even if they had enough to get a death penalty conviction on him, the government has halted all executions. New Mexico doesn't even have the death penalty, not that the crimes they can prove here are bad enough.
I need to have a purpose, and all I can think about are all the people he's hurt and the many people he'll hurt in the future if he isn't stopped.
I hate that it all rests on my shoulders.
"I'll go," I tell him, hating the worry in his eyes when he nods his head.
"OK, baby. I'll be there with you every step of the way."
As much as I want him to be able to keep his word, I know that anyone Nathan deems connected to me will die for thinking they could keep me from him.
Chapter 27
Newton
She was twitchy for the entire flight back to Ohio despite the level of security on the private jet.
She eyed every person on the plane as if they might transform into Nathan himself and pluck her from the earth.
Her eyes are tired from darting all over the place by the time I get her inside the interior room of the hotel suite.
Not only will someone have to make it past the two men Kincaid has put at the door, but there are five more inside the living room on the other side of the bedroom we're occupying.
