Page 79 of Second Chance Savior

Between the two of us, I had more doubts about myself. I was the one who’d dated Jud, and he’d turned out to be a sleazy asshole who’d probably sold his influence to the highest bidder. That entire relationship had been a mistake.

I didn’t want to make a mistake with River now. But at least he was a good man, and we were being upfront with each other.

“How can I help?” I asked. “I didn’t know Jud as well as I might’ve thought, but there must be something I can add.” I wanted those years with Jud to have some kind of meaning.

“Maybe he owned other property that’s not on our radar. Is there a spot he liked to go to get away from civilization?”

“Not everyone owns a secret safe house like you,” I said, gesturing at the cabin around us.

“Anyplace he would feel safe. A favorite state park or campground where he could stay without ID.”

I thought about it. Nothing occurred to me, and I gritted my teeth with frustration. “Jud is not an adventurous, outdoorsy guy. We both worked a lot, and when we took vacation, it was either to his fancy house in Hart County or a five-star beach resort. Hardly off the map.”

“That surprises me. You used to love camping and backpacking and rafting with your dad.”

“After I moved away from home, I didn’t have much time for that stuff. I had college and then my career. Ross wasn’t the outdoorsy type either, so—” I clamped my mouth shut as soon as I mentioned River’s brother. “I got out of the habit, I guess.”

Whoops. So far today, we’d been avoiding the subject of my other ex.

River acted like I hadn’t brought it up. “I’ll show you the dossier we’ve got on Hale so far. Give it a look, and let me know if there’s anything missing or if any other insights come to you.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

River reached around me, tapped at his keyboard, and a window opened.

While I read through the research on Jud, River nibbled at the tender skin beneath my jaw. His fingers ran up and down my thighs.

“I’ll be more insightful if you let me focus,” I said.

“That’s likely.”

“Then why are you trying to distract me?”

“It seems now that I’m allowed to touch you the way I want, I can’t stop.”

But we will have to stop, I thought.Probably soon.

Yet my eyes closed, and the rest of me melted into the hypnotic dance of River’s lips on my skin. The warm, wet brushes of his tongue. Those possessive fingers. As if he wanted to remind me who I was with right now, even though I was supposed to be thinking about my obnoxious ex.

My behind nestled into his crotch, a fact that was getting harder and harder to ignore. Literally.

“You’re impossible,” I muttered.

“I know.”

A new window appeared on the screen with a message for River. I pointed it out to him, and River pulled me tighter against him as he read over my shoulder. “It’s from Trace.”

It was a short block of text, indecipherable to me. “Is it encoded?”

“We have a shorthand we sometimes use.” River lightly tapped my hip, and I slid onto the chair next to him instead. “He has info to share. Wants to video chat.”

“I thought we couldn’t risk anyone knowing where we are. Including the Protectors.”

“He won’t be able to tell, nor would he do anything to jeopardize your safety. Trace and I have had ups and downs, but he’s my closest friend.”

“Then I’m looking forward to meeting him.” I smiled, thinking of what River had told me about Trace. It had sounded like they shared an intense bond.

I’d heard all the Protectors’ names multiple times now, but I’d had yet to speak to any of them. So I was curious to get another glimpse into River’s current life, the life he’d built in Colorado without even telling me he was here.

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