Page 19 of Love In The Shadows

“I know it’s a lot to take in, especially since I can’t tell you all the details,” he replied.

I was sitting on the sofa, watching him pace back and forth. He hadn’t stopped since we entered the room. He was nervous. Agitated. But I didn’t know why. He approached me—not the other way around. I would have never figured out who he was.

He stopped abruptly. “Tori, do you have any idea who these people are? They’re all tied together?—”

“—who? What people? Reed?”

“No, not Reed—or at least I don’t think so. Maybe he is, but I’m more worried about Richie Dalton. He’s the head of the Sanderson crew, and the guy you put away last year is his Uncle Paul Sanderson.” He paced a few steps and stopped again, glaring at me. “Do you have any idea what you walked into?”

I shook my head. “Oh my God, Bennett.” I wrapped my arms around myself and rocked, trying to calm my stomach. These were the guys I was trying to get away from, and now? I was fucked. “What am I gonna do?”

“Right now, nothing. How long have you been working at Parkston’s?”

I thought back to my first night at the club. It was hot and breezy. Summertime. Or early fall. “Like nine-ten months. Why?”

“I’ve been working on this case for two years. If Dalton hasn’t recognized you yet, he won’t. Paul Sanderson is locked up for a while. So right now, you aren’t going to do anything different. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

“What if they find me?”

“I’m here now, Tor. I’ll protect you if that time ever comes.”

Bennett came and sat beside me. He took my hands and met my eyes, but it was still like looking at a stranger. I believed that he was Bennett, but the experience was frightening all the same.

“Tori…”

Before he finished his thought, he got up and left the room. “Hold on,” he called.

Minutes later, he reappeared, rubbing his eyes. “God, that feels better. Those damn things drive me insane.”

He sat down again, and I sucked in a sudden breath. Tears welled in my eyes. “Bennett,” I whispered. I traced his cheek with my fingertips, overwhelmed with memories. Now it was him, those green eyes staring back at me. Those were familiar. “It’s really you.”

A smile pulled at the edge of his lips. “Colored contacts. My hair is dyed, too. You’re right about that. It’s all part of this job. I’m deep undercover, still going after the same bad guys you got messed up with.”

“Bennett, I’m scared.”

“I know. I’m worried about you too.”

The tears blurred my vision, and when I blinked, they slipped past my lashes and tracked down my cheeks, quickly followed by more. “I can’t—” A sob broke in and overcame my words.

Bennett pulled me against his chest, and I melted in the familiar embrace as more memories crossed my mind. They exploded like fireworks behind my tightly closed eyes. The first night we met, we danced at a club, and went home together. The way he looked into my eyes while he hovered over me, his body melted into mine. Running my fingers through his thick hair, pleading for more.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m here now.”

I nodded against the solid wall of muscle but couldn’t stop crying. It was as though a dam had broken loose inside of me. Everything I’d fought so hard to bottle up and stuff down in the deepest parts of my mind was rushing to the surface. I didn’t have to be Avery anymore. I could be Tori—with Bennett, anyway. He was the only person who knew the real me. Not the phony bio from WITSEC. Me—as I was—before my whole world went to shit.

He held me tight for a long time, letting me get it all out. Eventually, he brushed my hair back and looked down at my tear-soaked face. “Baby, what happened to you? What happened in WITSEC? How did you end up here?”

“What do you mean here?” I asked, looking up at him.

He smoothed my hair back. “Here, in Los Angeles. At Parkston’s? Right in the middle of the fucking lion’s den?”

“I don’t know. It’s a long story,” I said with a sigh.

Bennett smiled softly. “I got all night, gorgeous.”

I licked my lips and continued, “Well, after they set me up, the case finally went to trial, and that Paul dude got locked up. So then, they changed my name and background and sent me to Bellville, Kentucky—more like Hellville if ya ask me. For protection, you know?”

“Yeah, and then what happened?”

---