Page 6 of On a Fault Line

Choosing between what my brothers would want and what I want is the real turning point.

It’s a line I know will have devastating consequences if crossed and caught, and yet I can’t help myself from taking that leap.

I am fucking tired of doing what others expect of me. I am tired of denying my heart what it truly wants.

So for once, I am choosing me.

I am choosing my happiness over anyone else’s.

And I am choosing my horniness.

Grabbing the pen, I sign away the next one hundred days to Collins Stone.

And as soon as the final curve of my signature presses onto the document, a sense of relief floods me.

I did it.

I made the choice.

And it feels fucking good.

To celebrate, I do what anyone in my position would do—I snoop.

Rushing behind Collins’s desk, I try every drawer. Seriously, why must he lock up everything fun?

I jiggle a couple of cabinet doors, finding them all secure.

“You really couldn’t help yourself, could you?”

“Shit.” My heart is in my throat.

Turning back, I see Collins taking up the entire doorframe. Just a glance at him, and I’m busting out laughing. “I was just?—”

“Taking advantage of an opportunity to snoop?”

“Never,” I lie.

“Penelope, I would never allow you to have access to a space that could potentially cause you harm. I’m not that careless.”

“Harm?”

“Yes, harm.”

What is he talking about? “How so?”

“Let’s just say that I do a lot more at my job than just bodyguard.”

I make an O shape with my lips. “You kill people.”

“I relocate bodies when necessary. It doesn’t happen often. However, it is part of my job, but I think deep down you already knew this about me.”

I nod slowly. I know how much danger my brothers have been in the last couple of years. And it all started when Mark Tanner decided to drug me for his own sick purposes while I was looking at modeling in college.

“I know we don’t talk about that part of your life. But I wanted to thank you for taking care of my brothers and Angie and Claire. Those people are my world, and you have protected them countless times. And I never really showed—” I choke on the tears I’m trying to hold back, and Collins is on me, scooping me up and cradling me to his chest.

“It is an honor to provide that protection. And no matter what happens with this contract, I will always want what is best for you.”

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