After everything I did to protect her, she just comes waltzing back into my life – right back into the lion’s den. I’ve got to get her out of here now.
“Bailey. Bailey, wake up. You’ve got to go.”
She looks like Sleeping-Fucking-Beauty lying on the bed beneath me. The little black dress she’s wearing has me in a fit of rage as I think about how many of the hedonist scumbags downstairs got a good look at her before I found her. How many of them were picturing her naked, or ready to come ask her to join in the debauchery?
Goddamn it, Bailey, what the fuck are you doing here?!
“Wake up!” I hiss, splashing water on her face. She wakes with a start and sits up, wiping her face with the back of her hand.
“Ethan!” she exclaims. “Ethan? What—what are you doing here?”
“No, Bailey. That’s the wrong question. The right question is what are you doing here?”
She looks confused. She should be. “I—I came with a friend. Gina. She’s around here somewhere.”
“Your friend brought you here? A girl?”
Her beauty seems to radiate like a light in the cold darkness of my life. There’s something so innocent about her still. But soft…vulnerable. I’ve thought about her every day since I was forced to leave her and resigned myself to the fact that seeing her again would be impossible. But now she’s here, and I should be taking her away. But I can’t. There’s something inside me tugging, pulling, screaming at me to keep her. It’s the only time in my life a woman’s made me feel this way.
“She said it would be fun and I could meet a guy…”
“Meet a guy!?” I roar, rising to my feet. I have to stop myself from smashing something. That would draw too much attention from the wrong people. No. I have to keep my emotions in check. At least until she’s safe. “Christ, Bailey, you have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. I have to get you out of here now.”
I move to the bookcase and thumb the secret button. The shelves swing open, and I take Bailey’s hand and lead her down the steps to the hidden exit.
“Ethan, wait! Where are we going?”
I ignore her. This isn’t the time to have a fucking chat. This is time to get the hell out of Dodge.
I never thought I’d be using the emergency escape tunnel to get off the island, but I also never thought I’d be seeing Bailey again. I flip the switch to open the door to the water, then quickly untie the boat and start the engine.
“Get in.”
“Ethan, wait—”
“Bailey, get in!” I snarl. She’s scared. She should be. But I can’t help that right now. Right now I have to get her safe. Then I can be a gentleman.
Thankfully, she hasn’t forgotten how to listen to me and carefully steps into the boat. I hit the throttle and pull out into the dark waves. The cool breeze whips at my face and Bailey takes shelter behind me.
“What about Gina?”
“She’ll be fine,” I growl. “It’s you we need to worry about.”
I can’t risk putting the lights on, so I cross the water with nothing but the light from the moon to guide me. When I reach the shore, I tie off and help her to the land. But as we start up the hill, she topples over and cries out.
“Take the fucking heels off,” I growl, immediately beside her unbuckling the useless, impractical shoes. She does look fucking good in them though.
“Ethan—”
“Quiet. There will be time to talk later.”
Heels in one hand, I take her by the other and lead her up the slope and through the secret path through the woods to the clearing where I’ve hidden the car. Practical, inexpensive, nondescript. Nothing anyone would expect to see me in. I stay silent as we take the trail through the property and up to the main road. Only once we’re several miles from the docks do I finally turn to Bailey.
She looks terrified. I feel bad for a moment. It’s because of me. But if she only knew the horrors I just saved her from…
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. The words pain me as they slip from my lips, drawing a swell of emotions I wasn’t expecting into my chest.
“For what?”