Page 17 of Protected By the Sinner
I still haven’t calmed down.
I got home, took a shower, and swapped the femme fatale outfit for jeans and a T-shirt. Then I quickly packed my bags because I know I need to get out of here.
They’ll find me either way, just like they did last week. But now I’m not only hiding from the monsters, I have to hide from Beau too.
The apartment is already paid through the end of the month, like I always do in any city we stay in. The landlord knows I could leave at any time.
I do one last sweep of the rooms to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind. Then I check my wallet to see if I have enough cash for a night or two in a hotel.
I’ll have to stay in Texas until they let her go. But after that, the two of us will need to figure out where we’re going next.
As I wait for the cab I called, I stare at the two suitcases that hold everything I own.
A few pieces of clothing. No keepsakes. A life with no memories.
That’s not true. The memories exist. I just work hard to bury them deep.
I grab a glass of tap water but can’t finish it. I was so nervous about meeting Beau that I didn’t eat all day, so the champagne hit me hard.
The memory of the drink brings back everything that came after, and my fingers instinctively touch my lips, but I force myself to stop.
I’m good at forgetting things. People. And by tomorrow—or maybe in a few days—Beau LeBlanc will be nothing more than a blur.
I walk to the window and watch the quiet night outside.
I’m exhausted. Tired of running.
Just when I thought I’d be able to breathe for a few months, a new nightmare began.
I pace back and forth, trying to guess what Beau must be thinking.
Did he send someone after me? If so, what will he do when he finds me? I have no idea. I don’t even know if the men who sent me to him bothered to cover their tracks or hide whatever links them to me.
Not that I would count on it. Elodie and I learned a long time ago how to take care of ourselves.
Always running, never looking back.
Keep moving—makes it harder for them to catch us.
Chapter 7
That Same Night
When more than ten minutes had passed and Amber still hadn’t come back—then Roman showed up—I knew something had happened.
He’s always alert, but he never approaches me inside my clubs because he hates crowds. “She’s gone.”
“What do you mean,gone?”
“She left. I saw her on the cameras but couldn’t catch her in time. It never crossed my mind that a woman would actually run from you.” Even with his usual stoic expression, I can tell the idea amuses him.
“How long ago?”
“About ten minutes.”
So the moment she said she was going to the restroom, she vanished.
“Let’s go. Show me the cameras.”
