Page 57 of Protected By the Sinner

It seems like two people are talking, and I start to get nervous. I can’t make out what they’re saying.

Why isn’t he saying anything to me?

Then, after a moment, I hear my boyfriend’s voice asking, “What’s this?”

“You should see for yourself,” another man replies, but I don’t recognize the voice.

“I don’t like riddles.”

“It’s not a riddle. But if I tell you what’s in there, I might not live long enough to prove I’m telling the truth.”

“Just tell me what’s inside.”

“Photographs.”

I feel the blood drain from my body. A sick feeling tells me my world just came crashing down.

“She’s meeting with the Sicilians? When was this taken?” Beau asks.

“A week before she showed up at the Hazard opening in Dallas.”

He knows everything.

I hang up in horror, and pure survival instinct kicks in—I start running in the dark.

I see the lights of his house in the distance and go the opposite direction, crossing the street without looking.

Only when it’s too late do I notice the headlights coming straight at me.

I shut my eyes, and the last thing I think is that I’m going to die knowing he hates me.

And it’s in that moment that I finally admit it:

I’m completely in love with the man I betrayed.

Chapter 25

After what Roman just told me, I stand up from my desk, but I’m not sure if the best thing to do right now is to go home.

I want someone to tell me this is a fucking joke, that none of it’s real.

Amber didn’t just betray me—she could’ve gotten me killed.

“There aren’t any recent photos of Amber talking to them. It was just one occasion. You can tell by the clothes. It’s the same outfit in all of them.”

“There aren’t any recent photos for obvious reasons,” I say.

“Like what?”

“She’s with me all the time.”

“That wouldn’t stop her.”

“Roman, I am at my fucking limit, so stop talking in riddles.”

“She slipped away from the guards this afternoon. For a few hours.”

“What? Why the hell didn’t I know about this earlier?”