Page 93 of Protecting Christina

As he drove through the streets of New York City, lights and billboards flashed across the window, but all I saw was his face.

Why did he have to insist on me staying the night? Why couldn’t we just keep doing what we were doing?

Why are you running away? A small voice whispered, and I swallowed.

I wasn’t running away. I blinked as the bright lights blurred. A tear fell down my cheek and I wiped it away angrily.

I would not cry over him. I would not.

I was standing up for myself. I was…

Shit. What was I doing?

Gabby’s words intruded into my thoughts. ‘Who’s going to save you from yourself?’

My leg bounced in the backseat of the cab, and I tapped two fingers against my lips. Shaking my head, I closed my eyes. Who would save me from myself?

No one.

No one could save me from myself… but me.

Fear gripped my heart, and I rubbed my chest.

What if he leaves?

Damn it. I couldn’t always be worried about that. I couldn’t use it as an excuse to run before he did.

I balled my fists. “Wait,” I called out to the cab driver. “I need you to take me someplace else.”

“Where to?”

I hesitated. My stomach was tight with knots, yet my heart fluttered in my chest. “Park Avenue.”

He slowed the car down and pulled a U-turn. As I held onto the seatbelt, I wondered if this was when I turned my life around, too.

Shit. I hoped so.

As the cab drew closer to his apartment, my doubts receded. I felt lighter, but my knee still bounced. “Take the next street to avoid traffic,” I told the driver.

He followed my directions and drove me to the front of the building. “Thanks,” I called as I got out of the car.

As the elevator ascended to the penthouse, doubts began creeping into my thoughts, but I pushed them away. The doors finally opened, and I walked down the hallway. Pain shot through my feet and I teetered. Fuck it. I yanked my heels off one at a time as I hopped down the corridor.

Inhaling, I knocked twice on his door. With my shoes in one hand and my heart in the other, I waited.

And waited.

No answer.

“Christina?” The unexpected voice startled me. It came from the scanner next to Will’s door. “I’m not at home. Don’t leave. Don’t even fucking move. I’ll be right there.”

I smiled at the urgency in his voice. “I might need to scratch an itch, but okay.”

“Don’t mess with me, woman. I can’t take it right now. I’m ten minutes away.”

The strip club was at least twenty minutes away, but I imagined Will already in his car, racing down the streets. Pressing my back to his door, I sank to the floor.

And waited.

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