Please don’t kiss me. Please.
“I need to brush my teeth,” she blurted out.
His fingers tightened on her chin to the point of pain and she had to stop herself from shoving him, from fighting back.
Pretending to be weak and fragile seemed to work best with him. Which wasn’t difficult to do since she felt weak and fragile.
“I forgot to grab my toothbrush and toothpaste when we left the last motel. Sorry.”
He took a step back, and for a moment, she thought he would snap. Then something in him eased, and he put a charming smile on his face.
It was disturbing how easily he did that.
“Then it’s up to your man to get you more, isn’t it?”
Her man? Gross.
Smile. Act nice.
Get his guard down.
Acting was so damn hard.
“Whatever you need, I’ll provide.”
Really? Because what she really needed was to sleep in a bed with clean sheets and to take a shower where she didn’t feel dirtier than before she entered.
Oh, and to be far, far away from him.
“Now, tell me you love me.”
She didn’t want to. It made her feel awful. But she really didn’t want to see his reaction if she refused.
“I love you, Carl.”
The last of his tension fled his shoulders. “Of course you do. I’m just going down to the convenience store on the corner. Stay here.”
Sure, she’d stay here.
Not.
Once he’d left, she jumped up and peered quickly out the window. She couldn’t leave too soon and risk him seeing her.
Then she spotted his duffle. Maybe the money was in there. Moving over, she swiftly searched through it, but no envelope.
However, her hand encountered something hard and familiar. She drew out the object, nearly sobbing for joy.
Her phone! She’d thought that he would have gotten rid of it. Dumbass. With shaking hands, she turned it on. Please have battery power. Please.
It powered up. Four percent.
Oh God, please work.
She didn’t have time to think about it, she simply searched for her name. She was the only one person who might be able to help her.
This was a longshot. It was doubtful that Eden even gave a damn about Keira anymore.
Keira wouldn’t blame her. Keira only seemed to contact her when she needed something.