Page 33 of Exposed

I scream.

“Stop,” he clips and wraps his hands around my wrist to keep from slapping him.

I hate that he overpowers me so easily.

Panic turns to tears.

And a storm of memories overwhelm me.

I scream.

He pushes me back a foot, but he doesn’t let go. He stoops far enough that his piercing blue eyes are the only things I see through my terror. “Goldie, I’m not who you think I am, and I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Let go of me,” I beg. His words don’t sink in. The only thing I can think about is being trapped all over again.

He lets go immediately and holds his hands out for me to see that he’s done. His deep and foreboding tone lowers. “I’m not going to hurt you. I swear.”

I press my back to the wall. As much as I want to curl into myself and give up on life, I can’t take my eyes off him. He’s still between me and my pepper spray, but he’s put as much room between us as the small space will allow.

This surprises me.

But not as much as what spills from his mouth. “I’ll say itagain. I’m not who you think I am. My name isn’t Daniel Armstrong. I’m Special Agent Kingston Jennings with the DEA.”

Paralysis overcomes me other than my whisper. “What?”

His blue eyes bore into me. “I’m taking a chance by telling you that. I needed into The Pink, and you were my best bet.”

“You’re not…”

He shakes his head. “I do not work with your brother or anyone else. I’m investigating him. I’m not going to hurt you, Goldie. I swear. I want to talk to you, and I could really use your help.”

I have no words.

No, actually I do.

“You let me believe you were one of them? Why would you do that?”

He doesn’t back away when I get into his space like I did when the roles were reversed. I wish I were that confident. When he does speak, it’s like I’m a toddler again and he enunciates every word. “Because you’re a Carter, and I’m DEA.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” I spit.

“It does when I have no fucking clue whose team you’re on,” he shoots right back, defending his actions that scared the daylights out of me.

My tears have dried up. I violently swipe my face, happy I’m not wearing any make up today. “My last name might be Carter, but I’m definitely not on their team.”

He pulls in a deep breath. “That’s good.”

“Yes, that’s good,” I echo. “Let me out of this dang elevator. I hate elevators.”

“Let’s go back upstairs so we can talk.”

“No way. You lied to me about who you are. I need to get out of here. If Dex finds out I was at the DEA today, who knows what he’ll do.” I shake my head. “Who am I kidding? I know exactlywhat he’ll do, which means I need to get out of town faster than I did before.”

“Dex isn’t going to touch you.”

I huff the least humorous laugh in history. “Oh, you’re very wrong.”

He shakes his head. “There’s no fucking way that man will touch you. I won’t allow it.”

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