Page 14 of Protected by the Sinner (The Sinner’s Touch #2)
Minutes Later
Two hours, he said. More than enough time for me to head outside and buy a phone.
I can’t just leave Texas for some unknown destination without telling my sister.
Should I leave a note, in case Beau comes back before I do?
No, that’s ridiculous. We’re nothing to each other.
I grab a small purse and check the mirror to make sure I look decent.
I’m almost at the door when my stomach growls.
I only had a light breakfast. Last night, during dinner, Beau told me I could help myself to anything I wanted.
I head to the kitchen and pick out an apple. The fridge and cabinets are packed with food. He must have someone who takes care of that for him.
As I ride the elevator down, I wonder what it must be like to live a completely normal life. To walk down the street without fear, to have money to buy whatever you want at the grocery store, to live in a house for more than six months.
Some people dream big. They want wealth, power, to travel the world. I just want a place I can call my own. Doesn’t even have to be owned, just a space where I can make memories.
Plants, picture frames, a pet.
I reach the front lobby and see the doorman, along with a few security guards I assume work for the building. I guess a lot of rich people live here.
Playing the role of a confident woman, I nod as I walk past them. I’m feeling kind of powerful when I suddenly remember—I slammed the apartment door shut without grabbing the key.
Oh God. Now what?
Besides my ID and some cash, everything I own is in there.
Stupid Amber!
And I can’t even call him once I buy a phone, because I don’t know his number.
Guess I’ll just run to the store, grab a phone so I can stay in touch with Elodie, and then sit in the lobby like I’m grounded.
How humiliating.
I step out into the fresh afternoon air and take a deep breath, feeling relatively calmer knowing my sister is okay. Once again, we’ve dodged evil .
For how long, I have no idea.
I just sent Elodie a message letting her know I’m leaving Texas.
As I walk back to the building, I think about Beau’s question—whether I was a Romani. He had no idea how close to the truth he was.
Our mother was one. Even after making the worst decision of her life by marrying Dad, she used to say a Romani soul never changes.
Maybe that fits my sister better than it fits me.
Even with all the moving around, Elodie seemed to like never staying in one place for more than a few months.
As for me, paradise would be living in the same house for at least a year.
Making a few friends—ones who know nothing about my past—putting up a Christmas tree, and cooking a Thanksgiving dinner.
“Next year,” I promise myself.
I’ve got nearly two hundred days to go, but this time, it’s happening.
A big turkey and mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving, gravy and all the trimmings.
And at Christmas, finally a beautiful tree.
I’m lost in daydreams when I spot Beau’s building.
Time to make a fool of myself and hang out with the doorman and those bodyguards like some kind of grounded teenager.
But about ten steps away, a car screeches to a stop beside me and two huge men get out.
If it hadn’t been for the sound of the brakes, I wouldn’t have seen them before it was too late.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as every survival instinct I have screams at me to run.
I lock eyes with one of them, and he knows I understand he means to hurt me because he smiles.
Then, out of nowhere, one of the men I saw in the lobby earlier—whom I didn’t even realize had followed me—grabs my arm and starts escorting me back toward the building. Two more join him, and when I glance behind, the men from the car are gone.
“I didn’t bring the key,” I admit awkwardly, as if that’s the worst thing happening right now. Like no one on the street just saw me being escorted by three massive men like some kind of royal.
“You don’t need a key, just a code. I’ll open it for you, miss.”
They ride the elevator with me but won’t let me back into the apartment before they sweep it first.
Now that I’m inside, it hits me what almost happened, and my heart starts pounding in my chest.
I’m good at keeping it together in front of strangers, so I wait until they leave me alone in my room to finally fall apart.
Right now, I couldn’t care less whether my sister can answer or not. I need to hear her voice.
The phone rings at least six times before she picks up.
“It’s me,” I say without any caution, afraid she might hang up.
“Amber, what happened?”
“Someone came after me, Elodie.”
“Jesus! What happened?”
“I went out to buy a phone. Two men in a car stopped really close to me, but Beau’s guards had been following me and I didn’t even notice.”
“Are you okay?”
“I am now. Why didn’t you reply to my message?”
“I couldn’t. Listen to me. Now more than ever, you need to stay with him.”
“I know.”
“I’m not finished. Stay with him, but don’t make the mistake of letting your guard down, Amber. Remember who we are. The only person we can trust is each other.”
I end the call and grip the phone tightly.
What are Beau’s men going to tell him?
I mean, he probably already thinks I approached him at the club just because he’s rich, but I don’t think he suspects I was sent to spy on him. If he did, I doubt I’d still be here.
I glance at the clock and realize there are only a few minutes left before the time Beau said he’d be back.
Do I have time to shower? I have no idea where we’re going or what I should wear.
Before I can move, the door to my suite opens, and the man I have no clue how to label in my life walks in.
There’s nothing friendly about his face.