Page 94 of Prey for You

I swallowed hard. “I’m worried about her. I’m worried she’s going to get reckless and get herself hurt. I want to help her—in healthy ways. Either by going myself, or by getting people to her who can help her heal so she can come back and not have to run like this every year.”

“Maybe she’s not running from the past anymore. Maybe she’s running fromyou, the guy charged with her attempted murder. You thought of that?”

“No. Doesn’t even cross my mind—because I’m innocent, Gordon.”

“So you say.”

“Yes, I do.”

His tongue slid into the inside of his cheek as he considered what I’d said. The problem was, he was a power-broker. This was a man who’d spent his entire life working to stay on top, no matter where he was. He’d killed for his pride. For revenge. Formoney.

That wasn’t someone who did stuff out of the goodness of his heart. Not usually. Not unless…

“Are you really dying, Gordon?”

His expression went flat. “What do you think?”

“I think so.”

“Then why ask?”

“Because… I don’t know how long you’ve got, or how long she’ll be gone. But… what if this is your last chance to take care of her?”

He turned his knees back under the table then, sliding his elbows over the table and leaning in, his eyes glinting.

“See, your whole argument here is that you’re going to help her. But how do I know you’d do it? How do I knowyouaren’t the problem?”

“Because if you’ve been following her, you’ve already got reports on me and you know what I do and don’t do. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think I didn’t need to be dancing for you when I got in here, because you already knew. That’s why you agreed to see me. And maybe because you werehopefulthat I had something for you. From her.”

He shook his head slowly. “The difference between you and me is you still think there’s other people in this world who should be trusted.” He leaned in harder, bending over the table. “I don’t. I know if I want something done right, I need to do it myself.”

I took the plunge. Made myself vulnerable to him. “Thiswouldbe you doing it, Gordon. I’m at a loss. I haveno cluewhere she is. And the people around her either don’t know, or don’t care. They’re just expecting her to show back up when she’s done. And I think that’sbullshit.Helping someone isn’t just leaving them to walk through the darkness alone. It’s walking with them until they’re able to see the light again. That’s what God did with me. And it’s what I want to do for Bridget.”

His upper lip curled back in a sneer. “Jesus Christ, are you going to offer me a promise ring next?”

I stared at him. But he wasn’t done.

“Why should I helpyou?”he asked, half-amused, half-incredulous. “What’s in it for me?”

“If you cared about her, you’d wonder what was in it forher,instead of you,” I growled through my teeth. “I’m not offering you a thing, Gordon, except to know thetruththat the moment you had an opportunity to make a positive difference in her life, you did it.”

He didn’t respond, just stared at me. So I tried one last time.

“Either you know where she is, and you’ll help, or you don’t, or won’t. Which is it, Gordon?”

“You tell me, you’re the stalker.” His malicious grin widened. “The pervert priest.”

“Okay, we’re done,” I said, so frustrated I could easily have killed the guy myself. I knew what this place did to a person, the lack of trust it created. The easy betrayal and self-serving nature ofeverythingthat happened here. But still. I guess I’d held out hope that he’d be willing to help her. Because I felt the disappointment like a blade in my stomach. I stood up and beckoned through the window behind me to the guards who immediately began the process of unlocking the door.

“Going so soon, Sam? Mad that your god didn’t work out every little detail for you?”

I shot him a look and all my old urges—to get aggressive, and physical, andforcehis hand—came surging to the surface. He saw it and his eyes gleamed. But instead of giving in and shoving that heavy table up andoverto crush his old, frail, poorly-healing body, I just leaned on the top so our faces were only inches from each other.

“You’re serving yourself right now—and she’s the one who’s going to hurt for it. Ilove her.I was never going to hurt her. And I won’t now. I’m innocent of those charges. She knows it, and I do too.”

“We’re all innocent, haven’t you heard?”

It was a running joke in the prison—if you listened to our lawyers, there had never been a larger group of innocent men gathered in one place.

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