Page 77 of Royal Flush

“Now, we’re getting out of here.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as I wrapped one arm around her waist. I could sense she was getting stronger, fighting to return to her normal self.

“Straight to paradise.”

I made it to my vehicle without further incident, gently easing her into the passenger seat. I took a few seconds scanning the street before climbing in. The traffic was snarled likely from the accident.

She was fidgeting, keeping her head down.

“Strap yourself in, little koala. We have a ride ahead of us.”

The way she turned her head, staring at me was unreadable but at least she did what I asked. Once secure, I drove more recklessly, determined to get us as far away from the area as possible quickly.

The tension was ridiculous, my anger off the charts.

“Why?” she asked the moment I finally managed to make it to the freeway.

“Why?” I repeated. “Why did I save you?”

“Yes.”

“I already told you. You’re not getting away from me that easily.”

She exhaled, the sound entirely different. “Ashton. Oh, God. They could hurt her. I have to get back. I need to call her.”

“Relax. How do you think I found you? She’s safe. Told not to come.” I could feel the heat of her intense gaze on me, likely shocked I’d gone to such great lengths. What she’d yet to accept was that I knew almost everything about her. At least as much as had been documented.

Her lovely eyes penetrated mine with questions, uncertain about trust and wondering whether she was living a nightmare. The beautiful woman was easy to read.

Or maybe I was just in tune with her.

The fact she remained quiet didn’t bother me in the least, other than if she was planning another escape. We’d already wasted valuable time. I darted glances in her direction as she touched her face, wincing as she did so. There was now a slight bump on her forehead. I’d need to worry about a concussion. Damn it.

We’d gone another ten miles when she managed to surprise me. “Thank you for saving me.”

“You’re worth saving.”

“Ashton has no clue all that’s happened,” she said far too quietly. “I was terrified to tell her. You’re right. I was lured to the island by someone I shouldn’t have trusted. I swear to God I wasn’t paid or instructed to seduce you. I had no clue who you were.”

Her tone held utter sincerity. Whoever had lured her had taken a huge risk that we’d meet, let alone hit it off. Unless the person knew both that she was going there to feed her gambling addiction and the kind of woman that could dare entice me out of hibernation. That took skill. And years of knowledge.

“Who was it?” I asked.

“A girl who used to work for my father. We weren’t close but we used to chat. We even had lunch a couple times so she could garner my support about my asshole dad and his strict regime. It was enough of a relationship I felt I could trust her.”

“Interesting. I’ll need details about her, including if you know where she lives and her full name, but you should rest. It’s a possibility you have a concussion. We have plenty of time for you to explain what you thought you were doing.” I’d done my best to keep the terseness out of my tone but Jesus Christ. The girl’s number of lives would eventually run out.

“Paradise,” she said only seconds later. “Is there such a thing?”

“Maybe not but we’ll find out.”

I was about ten miles out when my phone rang, Valerio on the other end. “What’s going on?”

“Another attack, the men once again professionals.”

“Jesus Christ. This is getting out of hand. Any idea who they were?”

“They weren’t carrying identification and I couldn’t stop long enough to check their dead bodies.”

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