Page 131 of Breeding Her: The Red Flag Edition
But I didn’t trust the dickhead.
He released my mouth and slipped an arm around my waist, hauling me toward the car. I dug my heels in, twisting against him, just as Nahla appeared in the shop doorway. Concernshadowed her face. She hesitated for a moment before striding toward us.
“I suggest you don’t make trouble, Lucia,” Laurent murmured. “You don’t want your current employers prosecuted for tax evasion, do you?”
And there it was—Laurent Dubois’s true nature.
“Don’t make me the monster,” he added quietly.
Still gaslighting me.
I forced myself to smile as Nahla grew closer, but on the inside, my heart was shattering.
Her eyes flicked from my face to Laurent’s arm locked around my waist. She slowed, frowning.
“Lucy?” she asked carefully, her voice uncertain but edged with steel.
Laurent’s grip tightened, his smile a mask of charm. “Everything’s fine. A misunderstanding.”
Nahla’s eyes darted back to me, her expression hardening. “Doesn’t look fine to me.”
His fingers pressed into my hip.
“It’s fine, Nahla. I’m sorry to leave you in the lurch—but I need to go.”
Her gaze softened a touch, a knowing sadness flickering there. She shook her head slowly.
I couldn’t let him report them. That wasn’t an option.
I shoved him back and threw my arms around her. Nahla hugged me tight—warm, solid, motherly.
“It’s okay,” I whispered against her shoulder, my voice breaking. “I can handle the dickhead. I’ll be in touch.”
“If I don’t hear from you, I’ll be calling the police,” she whispered.
It wouldn’t do any good—she didn’t know my real name, but I nodded anyway.
Chapter 25
Laurent
She didn’t utter a single word to me. When she finally did speak, it was to ask Garrett to stop at a service station.
I couldn’t blame her. In one breath, I’d promised her change, and in the next, I’d panicked and threatened the family who sheltered her.
The petite Asian woman met my eyes with unfiltered contempt. She told Lucia to wait and disappeared into the shop. When she returned, it was with a small, sealed envelope.
“Your wages,” she’d whispered.
I glanced at Lucia’s sleeping form. Even in sleep, she was turned away from me, clinging to the door like it was the only solid thing left in her world.
“You’ve got a real way with the ladies. Teach me your ways, oh great master,” Garrett drawled, sarcasm dripping from every word.
“You’re fired,” I muttered.
“No one else is going to put up with you,” he shot back.
I did what I had to do. Lucia was mine—and so was the child she carried.
