Page 72 of Faith
“That was a long time ago.”
Robert pounded the table, making all the mugs and plates jump. “I was talking, Nina. You don’t get to interrupt. You’re the whore who takes my dick when I tell you to. You don’t get an opinion.”
“She’s not a whore,” Frannie growled. “And she’s never going to touch you again.”
Robert shook his head slowly. “You never should have left, Nina. And if you’re smart, you’ll go back home. Let Gwendolyn take care of you again. She misses you.”
“I’m never going back to her,” Nina whispered. She’d lived in fear for most of her life. First her father, then Gwendolyn, but sitting next to Robert and hearing the venom in his voice told her Zeke was right. The FBI wasn’t going to stop Robert or Gwendolyn or anyone. They wanted someone in custody, and they were willing to sacrifice Nina and anyone else they had to in order to get what they needed.
“Shame,” Robert said. “A real shame.”
He grabbed Nina so fast she couldn’t react in time to stop him. His lips came down on hers hard. Punishing. His tongue tried to press into her mouth, but she fought him. He yanked her hair, making her gasp, and he pushed his tongue into her mouth. His other hand went to her thigh, trying to pull them apart so he could get access to her.
“FBI, hands up!”
Robert pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, tugging her hair to control her. “We could have had a few more years together, Nina. Until you let those crazy ideas about us out and I would have had to put an end to you.”
Nina gasped.
“Enjoy your last few days.”
Robert was yanked away from her, his hold on her hair jerking her forward.
Nina put her hand to her mouth, wincing at the cut from his bite, and watched as Robert was forced face down on the counter. Handcuffs were slapped on him, then he was dragged from the coffeeshop and into a black SUV waiting outside.
Nina was still shaking, the whole thing taking a minute or two.
“I’m so sorry,” Frannie whispered. “I thought I was ready for this, but I never thought… Are you okay?”
Nina shook her head. Tears leaked down her cheeks. She felt dirty and violated and ashamed. She needed to hide. To get away from everyone and take a shower and try to forget about the last twelve years of her life.
“All those thoughts you’re having right now, don’t listen to them,” Frannie said. “They’re wrong. You were tricked, and you were threatened, and you did nothing wrong, Nina. Do you hear me? You did nothing wrong.”
Nina shook her head again. “How can you say that? How can you even think it might be true? I told myself he was good to me. That if the situation were different, he might have been someone I could care about. But he was lying to me the whole time. I had no idea.”
“He was good at it. He manipulated you just like she did.”
“I let it happen. I wanted to believe it all. I wanted someone who cared.”
“You have people who care. And they’d never do anything like that to you.” Frannie nodded to Zeke and Monty, both arguing with the agents at the door.
Zeke looked up and his gaze connected with Nina’s. She expected disgust or disapproval, but all she saw was the same look he’d given her since she opened the door and saw him waiting for her outside the convenience store.
Zeke deserved better, but with everything so raw, Nina wasn’t strong enough to walk away from him. All she wanted was to be in his arms and feel safe for one more night.
16
Zeke didn’t carewho he had to fight, he was getting inside the fucking coffeeshop and getting Nina in his arms. Now.
“For fuck’s sake, we were in the damn van with Agent Sloane and Agent Johnson,” Montgomery growled at the man guarding the door.
“I have orders not to let anyone in or out?—”
“Let them in. Now,” Adam Johnson snapped. “They have made all of this possible. Let all of us inside.” Adam flashed his badge at the dude who refused to let them all in and gave the man a heated glare that Zeke would not have wanted to be on the other end of when he was younger.
But it worked, and Zeke was grateful as fuck for it when he and Montgomery were able to rush past the other people crowding the coffeeshop and get to Nina.
Montgomery reached her first, pulling her against his chest and kissing the top of her head. Zeke twitched with the need to hold her. He wasn’t her brother, or her lover, or anyone who mattered, but after listening to the conversation, he needed to touch her. To feel for himself that she was uninjured.
