Page 33 of Corrupt Crown

After a long beat, she parts her lips to whisper, “Everything I’ve done is for her. Ineedto keep her safe. But now he knows about her…” Her breath hitches on another sob. “Oh God, how do I keep her safe now?”

I frown, not understanding what she means as her eyes beg me to help her. “Keepwhosafe?”

She inhales shakily, her eyes falling closed as another tear falls. I have to strain to hear her barely audible admission. One that shocks me to my core.

“My daughter.”

CHAPTER 10

ELODIE

My head thumps,my eyes sting, and my body aches as I slowly sit up in my bed.

How did I get here?

I glance around the darkened suite, my eyebrows lifting when I see I’m not alone.

With his long legs stretched out before him, and his head lolled back, the light of the moon allows me to see Rafe sleeping quietly in a bedside chair. My chest aches as I take a moment to let myself look at him unobserved.

A slightly longer-than-usual dark beard covers his jaw. He’s changed out of his suit and replaced it with a casual white T-shirt and navy chinos. His feet are bare, crossed at the ankles, looking utterly relaxed if it wasn’t for the deep frown marring his brow.

Long lashes brush his olive-skinned cheekbones as his chin rests on one hand. My heart skips a beat when those lashes flutter open, and his midnight gaze finds mine.

“There you are,Stellina.”

Disuse roughens his voice, and he clears his throat as he sits up, stretching his arms over his head with a low groan. His gaze is impenetrable as he regards me, the silence extending until I drop my gaze.

“How did I get here?”

“I carried you.” My eyes shoot back to his as his brow furrows. “You sobbed until you passed out…”

I sit forward suddenly, everything that transpired rushing to the forefront of my mind.

“Oh my God.” My breathing accelerates, pulse pounding in time with the steady thump in my temples. “I need to go—I need to…”

As I move to swing my legs over the side of the bed, Rafe swiftly unfurls his long length from the chair with the agility of a cat and kneels beside me. His hands wrap around my upper arms to firmly but gently hold me in place.

“Elodie.”

One word. My name. And it centers me enough to hold his concerned gaze.

“I can keep her safe.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. My eyes fill with tears at the thought of what could happen to the one person I love as a result of my stupidity.

I should never have come here.

“How?” comes out on a hopeless whisper as regret barrels through me.

“Tell me where she is.”

Rafe’s hands move from my arms to cup my cheeks. The soft pads of his thumbs brush away tears I didn’t even know were falling as he leans his forehead against mine. I can almostfeelhim lending me his strength, sending it through his body and into mine, and my soul aches, fortified by this man.

“I don’t want her involved… I want her to have a normal life. Asafelife,” I tell him, my voice scratchy from crying so hard. “Her safety is the very reason I willingly went with Nico in the first place. My parents?—”

I halt suddenly, sucking in a breath as those hated words fill my head.

You know who’ll pay the price.