Page 21 of Hide Little Traitor

Her bottom lip disappears between her teeth again. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to hurt you.” Tears gather at the corners of her eyes, and my chest tightens at the sight.

There’s nothing I hate more than watching Chloe cry. The idea that I can’t fix whatever plagues her is unacceptable to me, regardless of how irrational that thought may be.

“You’re not going to hurt me, and I’m not going to hurt you,” I assure her. “You don’t have to run anymore. All you have to do is let me take care of you. Let me take care of everything.”

The tears she was trying to hold at bay fall against her cheeks a moment before she shoves at my chest, forcing me back a step and allowing her to dip beneath my arm.

“Don’t make pretty promises you can’t keep, Kingston.” She swipes at the tears, but they’re quickly replaced by more.

“Chloe—”

“No,” she snaps. “I’m your prisoner here. You won’t let me leave. You won’t let me talk to Camilla. You won’t tell me what the hell is going on besides cryptic claims.” She chokes on a sob, but she takes a step back when I reach for her. “You’re just the latest in a long line of captors.”

She’s gone before I can respond, and truthfully, I don’t know what I would say even if I could.

One way or another, Chloe will become my wife. I just hope it’s by choice rather than me having to force her hand.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

DAMON

NOW

Kingston fucking Beaumont continues to be the bane of my existence.

It’s unclear whether Chloe knew he would come for her or not, but the fact he did is all I need to know to see I made the wrong choice letting Ronan leave with her.

It’s only going to be a matter of time before someone works out Ralph had no reason to take them both, and eventually I’m going to have to dump the rotting corpse stinking up a wing of the compound.

Air freshener is only going to hide the distinct scent of decaying flesh for so long.

It’s been twenty-four hours since I heard from my brother, and I’ve spent that day trying to work out what to do next.

I’ve thought about spinning the story that Ralph was working for Kingston and Ronan was just collateral damage. But there are too many holes that can be poked into that story and will only make Chloe’s death more painful if we manage to get her back.

Although my feelings toward her are complicated at best, she doesn’t deserve a painful death.

I’ve considered how I can bring Ronan home without any questions, but even after being poisoned by my father’s lies about her, everyone that works for us knows my brother would never leave her behind, and faking her death has its own host of potential problems.

I drag my hand through my hair and force my eyes closed. I’ve been trying to sleep for the last three hours, but rest never comes.

Because every time I close my eyes, I see her. The woman that felt too fucking good beneath me just days before that scum almost violated her.

If nothing else good comes from this situation, his death is the best thing to happen to the family in years.

For so long I wondered what she would feel like against me, how her lips would feel beneath mine, and what she would taste like.

But now I almost wish I didn’t know.

Knowing the answer to all those questions makes me crave her, the one woman on earth I can never have. For a million different reasons, beginning with her being the love of my brother’s life and ending with all the misery I’ve caused her.

How could she ever look at me and not see the man that tortured her father in front of her?

Fuck.