Page 4 of Hard To Stay

He worked his hand across his jaw. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” I replied while running my shaky hands up and down my arm in a soothing gesture. Talking about my past and knowing that Colton was mere feet away caused a chill to sweep over me.

Detective Morgan was obviously very good at what he did because he picked up on my nervousness. “Is there a history of some sort of violence?”

For a split second I thought about lying, but if I did then all the sacrifices I made would have been for nothing. I hadn’t planned my escape for weeks and left everyone I loved behind just for him to come and take whatever new life I had built away.

“There is, but it’s never been reported. Officially.”

He seemed to ponder my reply. “I see.” He said, and pushed himself off the wall. “I’m guessing you’ve tried requesting a restraining order in the past but the judge in your town would never issue one?” He asked, wanting to confirm his theory.

“Yes, Detective. That’s correct.” What more could I possibly say? I was an idiot.

His eyes softened, “Please, call me Brad.” He said with a warm smile.

I found myself smiling back. “Okay. Brad, thank you.”

Our heads turned towards the door as a pair of female giggles could be heard approaching. Two attractive women in sequined cocktail dresses swung the door open, fully engaged in a conversation, oblivious to their surroundings. Their conversation stopped mid-sentence when they stepped into the room.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the tall brunette gasped, placing her hand on her chest in surprise. “Are we interrupting something here?” she asked, glancing over at Brad and giving him an appreciative once over.

Brad threw her a flirty smile and I felt myself growing annoyed that they took his attention away from me. “I’m sorry, ladies. Could you just give us a couple more minutes, please?” He politely asked, with a dimple on the right side of his cheek making an appearance. It was clear that I wasn’t the only one affected by his megawatt smile. I swear I saw one of them suggestively lick her lips.

“Sure we can, honey!” the woman cooed, never taking her eyes off of him. She was tall and thin with jet-black hair, falling along her shoulder line. Her clingy black dress pushed her boobs up so much they almost touched her chin. I knew I was being petty, but I was standing up for all women here. It had nothing to do with the jealousy starting to stir inside of me. As pretty as she was, her dress made her look like a tramp. As my eyes raked her over-tanned skin, I couldn’t help but think how her arms and legs looked like Cheetos.

What the hell was wrong with me? I’d known the man for less than 10 minutes. This wasn’t me; I was a personal assistant to five, sexy male models. I was used to being around gorgeous men all the time. However, none of the men had ever had this kind of effect on me.

“Ummmm… we’ll be baaaaack.” the brunette said, dragging her words out in a sing-songy way while walking out. The not so subtle glance she gave Brad had me rolling my eyes in disbelief.

Abby walked over and stood beside me. Thank God, I had her in my corner. She was my only friend at this moment. “What do we do now, Brad?”

His steely eyes dropped to the floor then turned to me. “I need you to stay here. I’m going to go have a friendly chat with your ex.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” The sound of my voice came out more like a purr than I had intended. I wanted to curse myself. I was not normally this easily rattled.

His lips twitched like he was trying to suppress a grin. “Good, I’ll be right back.” he announced before he turned and walked out the door.

There was something about Brad that drew me to him like a magnet to metal. It had me wanting to get to know him on a deeper level. The way my body had reacted to him had me guessing if I should’ve been more worried about Colton or the handsome detective?

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