Page 34 of Exposed

This is too much. “You have no clue how bad he is. You can’t protect me from that. No one can.”

He pulls in a deep breath, and I jerk when he moves. It’s instinct, and I hate myself for it. He picks up my purse that fell to the floor sometime during our scuffle along with my pepper spray. He holds my purse out for me, but keeps the only weapon I’ve ever owned. “Goldie, you don’t know me. I might not be the smoothest, but I promise, the one thing I am good at is fighting bad guys. I made a career of it. If you come back upstairs and talk to me, you can be assured that Dex will never touch you. Neither will anyone who works for him. I’ll die before that happens.”

This man might have kissed me and had his hand on my bottom, but I have no idea who he really is.

But what I do know is he’s lied to me once.

It’s all too much.

I let my guard down and drop my face into my hands. When I pull in a deep breath, I’m overwhelmed by the turn of events. I lean into the wall again for support and do my best to fight off the tremble that vibrates down my spine.

“Goldie,” he calls for me. “Let’s talk.”

I rub my eyes before looking up at the man who’s a stranger to me. Even so, he feels less like one than he did five minutes ago.

He lowers his voice. “Please.”

I take my purse and dig through to the bottom until I find an old mangled tissue to blow my nose. “I haven’t eaten today, and I’m exhausted. I didn’t sleep last night.”

“I can fix that.”

I can’t take my eyes off the man taking up way too much of my space. “What’s your name, again?”

“Kingston Jennings,” he says. “You can call me King. Everyone does.”

“That’s some name,” I note.

The corner of his lips twitch. “And Marigold isn’t?”

I shrug. “My mother is a hippy from the south. No one is more flowery than her.”

“My mother moved around so much she was from nowhere and gave me a ridiculous name I had to live up to.”

“Do you?” I press. “Live up to your name?”

“I have so far and don’t plan on failing now. No one fucks with me. I lied to you to get into The Pink, but I can make that up to you. If you trust me, I’ll make sure no one fucks with you from here on out.”

I take him in. He seems even bigger in the elevator.

He crosses his arms over his wide chest, and I realize how different he looks today. No expensive suit. He’s wearing a faded pair of jeans that look soft from being washed a million times. His gray T-shirt is faded, and his hair isn’t styled. A pair of work boots make him even taller and more menacing than I’ve seen him.

And, finally, more proof he is who he says he is.

A badge is clipped to the waist of his jeans and a gun is holstered at his hip.

Not that he’d be wandering around the DEA offices if he weren’t an agent. That should’ve been my first clue had I not been so shocked to see him.

I ask what I want to know more than anything. “What do you want from me?”

“I’m not going to lie, Goldie. I want a lot. No one else can give me what you can. If you give me thirty minutes, I’ll lay it out for you.”

“Why would I do that? What will I get in return?”

His answer is immediate. “Freedom.”

I stare up at him. “That’s a tall order, Agent Jennings. Don’t promise things you can’t deliver.”

He shakes his head. “I’ll protect you and make sure you’re free from the filth of Carter for good.”

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