Page 31 of Bound

She's not the bad guy here.

Jo has no fucking clue how I ended up with her son.

Rocking his jaw, I could hear Porter's teeth grinding against each other. He didn't say a thing as he followed his mother to the door and watched her leave.

There was a tension in the air, I could feel it the second she said I could call home. Porter took in a deep breath, his shoulders snapping square as a shudder ran through his body. I might not have noticed it except he had been sitting right beside me when it happened, and I felt it.

Leaning his head out the door, he waited for her to be gone, then softly closed the door, making me more than aware that we were all alone now.

Turning on his heels, his eyes had changed, the glow now dull and dark against his pupils. His face was flat, still and sullen as his eyes held me in place.

A tremor ran up my spine as his long legs brought him to the side of the bed in two steps. I couldn't breathe as he glowered at me, angry that I had asked such a question to someone who held no control over the situation.

Curling his lip, his brows shot down as his jaw crooked. “You're not leaving and you're not calling home.”

“But your mom—”

Slicing a hand through the air, he snapped. “My mother doesn't have a damn clue about what's going on. And it needs to stay that way. She can't know, understand?”

“So you want me to lie to her if she asks? Do you really expect me to just let you do this? She seems like a good woman, you're going to ruin her when she finds out.”

“Ruin her. . .” he said with disbelief. “I'm not doing anything to ruin her, I'm doing it for her. But she doesn't need to know, she's already been through enough.”

“And if I do tell her, then what?”

“Do you really want to test me?”

Thinning my lips, I didn't want to look at him straight on. Darting my eyes around the room, I gripped the blanket and pulled it up my chest. “Fine, that's fine, I can do that. I can keep your secret. But you don't need me, so why keep me here?”

“I need you here so I can keep an eye on you. I'm not going to risk you getting hurt, or even fucking killed, because we were together. When I know it's safe, then and only then, will I think about what to do with you.”

Arching a brow, the confusion swept in, stirring something deep inside my belly.He won't risk me getting hurt or killed?

It didn't add up in my brain. He had been the killer, he was the one who had pulled the trigger, and stolen me without permission.

Who is he hiding me from?

“I don't understand. What am I supposed to do then? What if your mom wants to send me home? How the hell are you going to explain to her that I can't leave?”

Raking his thick fingers through his hair, he shook his head. “You don't need to worry about that. As far as she's concerned, we met at a bar, and I crashed the car on accident. That's the story, that's what you say if she asks you. Don't worry about the rest.”

“So, she thinks I'm some bar whore? Is that the story you're telling? That's what you think of me? Because last night, that wasn't something I would normally do.”

“I didn't tell her anything like that, and even if I did, does it matter?” Porter didn't wait for me to answer. Gripping his jaw, he said, “Look, either you play along, or I send you out into the world and you get killed. Which one do you want?”

Thumbing at my lip, I looked up at him. “Those aren't good options.”

“At least you have options right now. I can't promise those options will stay. But, right now you're safe here, no one will be able to find you.”

“Safe? You call this safe?!” Tensing up, my nails clutched the blanket, diving into the fabric and holding on like talons. “I hate you, you know that? I fucking hate you. I hope you rot in hell.” Baring my teeth, I shook my head. “How can you tell me I'm safe? How the hell is this safe, Porter?”

“Sweetheart, my life is already shit, going to hell would be doing me a favor. Until then, I need you to just listen to me. I'm not asking you for much, just keep your mouth shut about what really happened.”

Tucking my feet under my legs, I snuggled up deeper into the blanket, wishing that I could just disappear. “I don't know if I can just pretend, I'm not good at lying.”

“You better get good at it, because until this is over, you're going to do what I tell you to do.” Stalking closer, he sat on the bed, and ran his hand around my face. Resting his fingertips against my throat, his mouth pursed tight. “If you don't, you can kiss your life goodbye.”

Holding my breath, I felt the pads of his fingers dance over the thick vein in my neck as his thumb traced my chin.

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