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She jumped.Her eyes fluttered open.
“Hudson told you he wasn’t guilty?”
“Yes.But he was lying.”Her eyelids sagged closed.
“How do you know?”
Her breath whispered out.
“Naomi.”
Her lashes fluttered.She was confused.Disoriented.And…still in the car?She fumbled and pushed against the seatbelt.Had she fallen asleep for a moment?
“When was the last time you had a seizure?The doctor asked, andIasked but you didn’t say.How long was it before this one?”
“My wedding night.”Another yawn.Couldn’t the man just let her sleep?
She heard a curse.Her eyes had fallen closed again.“Wake me up when we get there,” she murmured.The words tumbled out all at the same time.Wakemeupwhen…
“You had a seizure on your wedding night?Did Hudson help you?Did you lose consciousness?Is that what happened?You lost consciousness and never saw the killer and you just gave the cops some story about being gone and an intruder attacking him?”
Her eyes reluctantly opened.Her stare locked on his profile once more.He gripped the steering wheel far too hard.Poor Eb.He thought he’d just solved the big mystery.She hated to disappoint him, but he needed to understand who his friend had truly been.“Hudson didn’t help me.He watched me suffer.Wanted me to beg.I didn’t beg.”
“Naomi.”
“The mask fell away.He didn’t love me.He wanted to control me.He wanted to hurt me.Hedidhurt me.But now Hudson can’t hurt anyone.”
Stunned silence.
“Believe me or not.Your choice.”Her breath drifted out on a sigh.
Eb didn’t ask any other questions.Good.Because she didn’t have more answers to give.
Naomi let her eyes drift shut once more.
ChapterNine
He parked the car.Turned his head to look at the passenger.Naomi’s eyes were closed.Her lips slightly parted.Still no good color in her cheeks.Still looking far, far too fragile for his piece of mind.
She was just…not what he’d thought.
She didn’t seem cold-blooded.Calculating.
She was vulnerable.But strong.So very strong.With her past.With her present.
And with every moment that he spent with her…I don’t feel hate for Naomi.
Maybe he should stop lying to himself about that shit.Because he did not hate Naomi.Far from it.He killed the engine.Unhooked his seatbelt and exited the vehicle.He strode to her side, opened her door, and then unhooked Naomi’s seatbelt.She barely stirred.
His hand lifted and softly touched her cheek.“Naomi?”
Her breath rustled from between her lush lips.Her eyes remained closed.
No sense waking her up.She’d basically gotten zero sleep the night before.Neither of them had gotten much sleep.Eb wanted to crash, but he needed to make sure she was secure first.And there were other plans that he needed to put in place.
Carefully, slowly, he lifted her from the car and held her in his arms.He used his hip to shut the door and then carried her toward the guesthouse.
He didn’t like the guesthouse.They would not be staying in it after today.Other arrangements would be made.Changes had to occur.