Page 91 of Before Eve

West casts him a quick look, holding up a finger, before looking back at me.

Omar climbs from his truck and walks toward us.

With a sigh, West rolls down his window. Omar doesn’t look at me as he says, “Power is out here, but not at my place. Your manager called me. She needs to talk to you ASAP. She said it can’t wait.”

Another sigh from West. Omar walks off, and West looks at me. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. But can we talk later?”

“Of course we can. You’ll be okay without power? There are candles in the kitchen.”

I wave him on.

While there’s still hot water, I grab a quick shower and head out onto the porch, where I climb into the hammock.Time ticks by at an interminable rate while I wait on West. My brain cycles through the intimacy we’ve shared, the conversations we’ve had, and mentally, I go through the next one.

I am Laura Kader. My father is Grayson. I’m only sixteen. I’m a runaway.

What can West do with those words? I mean, really, what can he do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Grayson is too powerful. West can’t protect me, and I don’t expect him to. If I could just hide out here until I’m eighteen.

I pull a blanket over me and try to void my thoughts.

CHAPTER 44

I have to do this.There are no other choices. No one to call, nowhere to run. Brynn certainly can’t help me.

Clutching my gown, I take a deep breath and try to clear my mind. “Tell me what to do.”

The private physician squeezes my hand. “Scoot your bottom to the end of the table and put your feet in these stirrups. Then lie back and spread your legs.”

I blush.

“Now don’t worry about that part,” he interjects quickly. “I’ll put a sheet over you and cover you completely. I’m going to insert this device,” he holds up some silver thing, “into your vagina and open it up a little. It’s not painful,” he assures me. “You’ll feel a little pressure, that’s all. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”

I appreciate his attempt at reassuring me, but I just want to get the whole thing over with.

Afterwards, I hear Grayson in the hall. “Thank you, doctor. It’s times like these I wish her mother were here. Now that she’s becoming a woman, I wanted to make sure she had her first physical.”

“Yes, I understand. You did the right thing.”

Grayson comes back in, finding me still in the gown, sitting up on the examination table. He carries a folder. “Well done, Laura. Turns out you’re not a whore after all. In fact, just the opposite.” A pleased smile creeps in. “Noah Riley does love a virgin.”

I wake in the hammock, staring at the wood planks of the porch’s ceiling, orienting myself. A chill runs through me, and I realize the blanket has slid off.

My knees are bent, spread wide in a pelvic exam position. Groggily, I close them and pull the blanket back up. My father had brokered a deal with Noah Riley, a man with very dark and select tastes in young women. That exam had happened one week before Brynn helped me run. She saved me from Grayson, sure, but also whatever horror Noah Riley had planned.

A giant portion of Grayson’s presidential backing was coming from Noah. Without the deal for me, I didn’t think that money would come through. The fact that it still has unsettles me. What does Grayson have up his sleeve?

I hate him for everything he’s done to me. That hate burns through my gut, and I rub my hand across my stomach to alleviate the fire.

Rolling over onto my side, I see West sitting in the corner of the porch, a lit candle beside him, staring out into the night.

“Hey,” I whisper. “You should’ve woken me up.”

“I couldn’t. You looked too damn peaceful.” He gets up and crawls into the hammock, pulling me into a snuggle under the blanket. “I’m sorry I was at Omar’s for so long.”

I cuddle into his arms and his clean scent. “Power is still out?”

“Yes.” With a sigh, he looks out across the valley. “Tomorrow we have to fly separate ways.”