Page 58 of Hunted Innocence

“I’m ready to move back home,” I say.

“Okay,” he says with a single nod.

“No,” I murmur, shaking my head. “Not back to my apartment.”

“What are you trying to say?” he asks.

Pressing my lips together, I roll them a few times. I can’t return to our childhood home, so that’s not what I mean. I can’t stay here anymore, though. I need to go somewhere else.

“I’m ready to find a home. I’m free now, Brody.”

“What about your apartment, Grayson’s apartment, your job?”

Looking back over my shoulder at the closed door, I think about Grayson and his apartment. The apartment is his, and he is not mine. Shifting my gaze back to meet his, I search his eyes.

“There are other jobs. I want a home, and Grayson needs to find his happiness.”

“Enough said,” Brody states.

Together, we leave the apartment building and Brody takes me to work, although he stops at a coffee shop with the excuse that it’s for me, but he gets a large coffee for himself, too. He pulls up to Securus, shifting the pickup truck intoPark.

“I’m sorry for not being a better brother when I should have been,” he murmurs. “But I am here now, and I will do whatever you want me to. Including beating the shit out of Grayson again.”

Unable to hide my smile, I reach for his arm and wrap my fingers around his wrist. “Please don’t beat up Grayson. He has been really good to me.”

“But you’re leaving him?” he asks.

I hum, my fingers flexing around his wrist again. “It’s time.”

“You want me to pick you up after work?”

“No, but thank you.”

“Call me anytime, Nadine. Day or night.”

Releasing my brother’s arm, I slip out of the pickup truck and turn to face him once I’m settled on the asphalt ground. I tip my head back slightly until my eyes find his, and I hold the connection for a moment before I speak.

“I love you, Brody.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

GRAYSON

I can’t takemy eyes off my phone’s screen, watching the live surveillance footage as she makes her way into the office. Brody stays in the truck, observing her every move, and that makes me feel at ease, but at the same time, it pisses me off.

I don’t want anyone else to watch her, to protect her—only me.

And I know just how fucking ridiculous that sounds. But it’s how I feel at this point. It’s not like I protected her when I should have, but I want to make up for that. I need to make up for that.

I’ve thrown myself back into work, picking up where I slacked off the last few months, especially now that Nadine is back in the office and I know without a doubt she will be safe behind her desk.

Today, I’m working on a system in Raleigh. It’s a commercial property, which I love because I’m mostly left alone. Everyone is busy doing their jobs, so they leave me alone to do mine. Which means I’m lost inside my own head, mulling over everythingthat’s happened and everything that is about to happen, including the future and what that is going to look like.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been focused on work. I’m going through the motions, but also working at a decent pace when my phone rings. I jump, surprised at the noise. Frowning, I reach for the device and slide my thumb across the screen. He doesn’t typically call me unless there’s an emergency of some kind. Most of us communicate through text for little things.

“Theron?” I ask.

“What did you do?” he roars.

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