Page 26 of No Escape
He cocked a brow up at me. “No?”
“No, it wasn’t. Everything I’ve experienced these last few years has been fake. Fake friends. Fake lovers. Fake lives. Just a world of make-believe.”
“Do you really believe that?”
I nodded. “I do.” Clinging tighter to him, I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. This man barely knew me yet was risking his life for me. He was opening his home and heart to me.
Pulling back from him, I looked into his eyes once more and I saw it—genuine affection.
“What?” Fingering a lock of my hair, he watched the strands fall from his fingertips and then met my gaze again.
“You care for me?”
A hint of a grin touched his lips. “That obvious?”
“Little bit. I’m falling for you as well.”
Leaning forward, I pressed my forehead to his.
“I’m scared, Dayton.”
“You don’t have to be. Nothing will ever happen to you. I’ll never allow anything or anyone to hurt you, Elle. I promise.”
“Will you be with me? Through it all. Promise?”
“I promise. Does that mean you’ll take me up on my offer? Will you stay with me, Elle?”
Slowly a smile crept onto my lips. For the first time in my life I felt safe; cared for. I believed him.
“I’d love to.”
EPILOGUE
ELLE
Eight Months Later
The months after I stepped into the offices of Homeland Security and took the deal that included all my charges being dropped had been a whirlwind. I’d never screamed, cried, or gotten angry so much in my life. Every day seemed to be a new challenge and it felt like my emotions had been riding an endless rollercoaster.
But we made it. And today was the day.
Sitting next to Dayton on his sofa in the living room of his home, our fingers interlaced, we watched the live coverage of the trial for Aaron Ramsay. All of the others who had been arrested and put on trial had been convicted. He was the last. The collapse of his empire had been cheered by most, but condemned by some. There were those out there who felt it was a witch-hunt. No amount of evidence would change their minds, not the testimonies, not the videos of him abusing aspiring models and actresses in security camera footage, or the videos secretly taken by another whistleblower of the drug smuggling and sex slaves. But that was okay. There would always be those who were so committed to the characters these men and women were portrayed to be in the media that no amount of evidence would break through their illusion of who that person truly was.
My coming forward had begun a domino effect. It empowered others to come forward with what they knew.
I’d testified the previous week.
My duty was done, and I’d played my part to take the organization down. I’d been terrified every step of the way, but it was Dayton’s strength and assurances that helped me through to the end. Now all I could hope was that the jury would do their part.
He gave my hand a squeeze drawing my attention from the television to Dayton.
Damn, he was sexy. While the actors in Hollywood played the role of hero and knight in shining armor, he truly was one.
There’s no way I’d have gotten through this ordeal without him.
“You’re my knight in shining armor, you know that, right?”
He cocked a brow at me. “Is that so?”
