Page 77 of Heathen

She has a right to her feelings, and if they don't align with mine, there's nothing I can do about that.

"So, you're leaving?"

Even after I begged you to stay?

"I think it's best," she says as she stands, making my heart pound and my head race with ways to keep her here.

"Your car was impounded at the warehouse, and there weren't keys with it," I say. "I can get you keys to a different vehicle that you can use until you can get your car back."

"I have an Uber on the way," she says, her fake little smile not even directed at me.

She can't seem to get away from me quick enough, and it threatens to shatter me into a million pieces right here in front of her, but I pull in a deep breath. I feel vulnerable, and that's the last thing I want her to witness.

"The annulment—"

Is she trying to kill me right now?

"That's not something we need to think about right now," I rush out.

"I think the quicker we get it done the better," she says as she gathers the strap of her bag. "So we can get our lives back to normal."

"I'll have Rooster draw up the proper paperwork," I tell her when all I want to do is beg her to look me in the eyes and tell me she doesn't feel anything for me.

I swallow against the massive lump that has wedged itself into my throat.

I open my mouth to tell her it isn't safe, that I don't trust Kincaid and there's still danger for her, but the truth is, there's always danger.

Saying she should be okay is ridiculous. Okay is subjective. It's possible she can go do something stupid again like she did before, only I wouldn't be there to help her.

My pulse strengthens, my muscles flooding with adrenaline.

Her phone chimes, and, after reading the message on the screen, she looks at me for the first time since I came into the room.

"My Uber is here," she says, and I swear there's a sadness in her tone, but then again, there's a very real chance my head is just filling in the blanks where I want it to so this either hurts less or it's trying to convince me that she wants me to beg her to stay.

But I already did that, didn't I? And look where it's left us. We couldn't even make it to lunch before she was ready to bolt out the fucking door.

I step into her, hating the way she draws in a sharp breath as if she's nervous about what happens next. Instead of invading her space, completely, I bend and press my lips to her forehead.

"Be safe," I tell her. "I'm here if you ever need anything."

"Sure," she says. She walks away, leaving me stuck in place, wondering how she managed to pull my heart from my chest and pack it away into her bag without me realizing it until it was too late to get the damned thing back.

Chapter 32

Kaylee

I've been back at my house for over an hour, and my pulse is still racing. The last time I was here was only for a short time, and I was forced out of the backdoor because of the goon who was banging on the front door.

The fear that it'll happen again doesn't fade, despite knowing that the men who were terrorizing me and threatened the safety of my friend are behind bars.

The entire experience has opened my eyes to the danger that has always been lurking around me. It leaves me wondering if I always would've been blind to it if I hadn't made the decision to knock on that warehouse door.

The women have been rescued, but can I really consider it a rescue if they're just being held against their will by what most would consider a lawful entity? They're still prisoners, and, to me, that doesn't make things better.

Did I ruin their lives because I wanted to find out what happened to Alena? Are those women going to be even more miserable because of my actions? It doesn't matter if someone has the best of intentions. The fallout is what is measured, and knowing they're all being held and threatened with possible deportation doesn't make me feel like I did the right thing at all.

Misery leaks from my pores at an accelerated rate because the air conditioning unit in the small house is old and fighting the heat that has been trapped inside for the days that I've been gone.

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