Page 41 of Second Chance for Mr. Alden

I needed Alden to see me as someone who was strong, not weak. Someone he could be proud of. And still, my body sank further into his embrace, as I considered why that mattered so much to me.

Alden opened the passenger door, and gently lowered me onto the seat. I winced as his fingers shifted over the newly forming bruises on my arms. He jerked his hand back, and his lips pressed into a thin line. Before I could tell him it wasn’t his fault, he shut the door. He hadn’t been the one to hurt me.

I reached for my seatbelt with trembling hands and managed to latch after the second try. Alden got in and set the car in drive. He kept his face forward, concentrating on the road, and relaying information to Gage. My stomach twisted as anger rolled off of him in waves.

He flew down the road while we waited for Gage to direct us. The men had a head start and Alden was hoping we could catch up and follow them.

“Go ahead,” Alden said. It took me a second to realize he was responding to Gage through is earpiece. “No fucking way. Damn it. Okay. We’ll head back to the house unless you locate them.”

This was all my fault.

I stared out the windshield, unsure what to say, knowing he was pissed at me. He had every right to be. I hadn’t listened. I should’ve stayed inside.

“I’m sorry, Alden,” I whispered. My fingers twisted the folds of my dress. “I should have listened to you.”

He eased out onto the main road before looking at me. “Jess, I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself.” His fingers fisted against the wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.

“What?” He’d done nothing wrong. “Why?”

“I wasn’t there to protect you. You could’ve gotten hurt.” He drew in a ragged breath. “Fuck, youdidget hurt.” He glanced at my arm, his eyes narrowing. “I’m going to kill the bastards that dared to lay a finger on you.”

My heart clenched.

I wanted to comfort him. I laid my head down on his arm and gently pried his right hand from the steering wheel, tucking it between my own. “You didn’t do anything wrong. If I’d stayed inside like you asked, it wouldn’t have happened.”

He stiffened, then shuddered in rage, like a powder keg about to explode. I knew he was berating himself and reliving every second to determine what he should have done differently.

I let my fingers trail up his wrist and over the suit jacket he wore. When I reached his elbow, I ran my fingers back down and then up again. “You need to stop blaming yourself.”

“If they’d taken you—”

“But they didn’t.”

I exhaled and curled into him, closing my eyes to memorize this moment. It didn’t matter what happened before to bring us here. Just that Alden was letting me in the tiniest bit.

Suddenly, he tensed, and he pulled his hand away.

“Fuck, we’re being tailed.”

I gripped the edge of my seat as Alden veered off the highway. Followed? Why was someone after me? My stomach churned as he jerked the wheel and slid between two cars.

Terror overwhelmed me and I froze. What did these people want with me, and what were they prepared to do to make sure they got me?

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