Page 91 of Shelter for Morgan

Benjamin moved around the table and met Rhett’s troubled gaze with his own. “I… I probably should have said something earlier, right?”

Rhett could hear the fear in the teen’s voice.

And while he started to fight back his own rush of fear, Rhett knew that Morgan wouldn’t want him to say anything bad in front of the teen.

“You said it, Benajamin. You did what you needed to. No one is going to fault you for waiting. You didn’t know who you could trust.”

He nodded, but stopped. “No, I knew I could trust Miss Rafferty,” he hung his head, muffling his voice a little, “I just didn’t want her to think that I was stupid.”

Rhett took him by the shoulders and settled his own emotions so he could speak clearly. “Benjamin.”

The teen shook his head.

“Benjamin, look at me.”

He lifted his head with a little gasp of breath.

“Do you honestly believe that she would think you were stupid?”

A tear gathered in the young man’s eye. “No. She’s not like that.”

“No.” Rhett smiled at him, a simple lift of the corners of his mouth. “She’s not.”

“She’ll be happy that you talked to us because now we can help you.”

Benjamin nodded. “Now we just have to make sure that she stays far away from Munder.”

MORGAN

“Where is everyone?”

Three streets and nothing.

Not even an open bar!

She didn’t know the area around the school well. It had been on her list of things to do when she started at the school, but once she met Rhett’s friends and the women who’d fallen for them, she had a whole group of people to get to know and places to explore from their recommendations alone.

She hadn’t had the time or the interest to look around the school for entertainment or anything else.

“Damn it.”

The truck clipped her on the back corner of her car and she heard glass breaking and a crunch of metal as the back end of her car swerved around.

As soon as she righted the direction of her car she used the back of her hand to wipe away the tears from her eyes.

She knew this wasn’t going to end with him just talking to her.

She’d proved that she wasn’t interested in being a part of their… game.

Morgan knew she had to get away before Officer Munder found a way to silence her for good.

She pounded her fist on the steering wheel.

Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve wasn’t going to help her at this moment. She just had to make the best out of the shit she was in and hope that she’d live to see Palmer again.

The engine revving behind her sounded louder and closer than before. Gripping onto the wheel, Morgan saw her knuckles grow almost white in passing streetlights.

“Hold it together,” she grumbled under her breath. “Hold your shit together, girl.”

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