Page 51 of Forbidden Kisses

She'd clasped her hands together in her lap, and I covered them with mine. She was shaking even worse than before. I'd never felt a connection as deep as I did to Riley. The fact that she didn't want her sister to face the same spoke volumes about her.

"I promise we'll figure this out, okay? Don't you worry. First, let's go check on your sister. Don't blame yourself."

"I should have convinced her to move in with me, but she's so stubborn."

"She didn't want to?"

"No. She said that, since she's eighteen, she should be able to get by on her own.”

"San Diego is an expensive city."

"That's why she found that hellhole to live in. I even offered to give up my room at the house and move somewhere else, or even share it, but she wouldn't hear of it."

I'd never heard Riley so distressed.

"Listen. No matter how much we care for people, we can't force them to do what we think is best. All we can do is support them."

"I know," she said, wiping away her tears.

"Please don't cry. I want to make you feel better."

She turned to me, smiling. "Thank you for driving me there. I promise I’ll get my shit together before I'm back to work on Monday."

I stared at her. "Riley, I'm not going to leave you to deal with this alone. We’ll figure out things together."

She just stared at me, but at least she didn't fight me on it.

We arrived at our destination twenty minutes later.

"Where are the police?" I asked.

"I don't know, but that's her boss’s car." She pointed to a fucking Range Rover.

What the hell?The man didn't even bother to repair the cameras, but he was driving a Range Rover? I was seeing red.

I parked the car, looking around carefully. The area seemed deserted.

Riley jumped out before I’d even turned off the engine. Damn! I followed her quickly inside the store. A woman who looked a lot like Riley stood behind the counter. Range Rover guy seemed no older than midtwenties with very short hair and three rings in his left eyebrow.

"I don't care. Your shift is until midnight," he was saying as we entered.

"I’m too shaken. Honestly, I don't think I can stay here for that long."

He shook his head. "I can't believe you called the fucking police."

"What is going on?" I asked.

Riley immediately went to her sister’s side.

He turned to me, face red. "What is this? Who are you?"

"I’m her sister," Riley said, rolling back her shoulders.

“You asked yoursisterover? This is your place of work. What the fuck?" he growled.

"You can't talk to her like that," I said.

He straightened up and puffed out his chest. "Who the fuck do you think you are? This is my business."