12. Easton #2
The machines beep in the background as Hazel gathers up her strength for the next part of her story. I’m already on edge, not liking where this story is going in the slightest.
“I went to a restaurant. The guy was running late. He called, and I stepped outside to take it because it was so loud in there. As I was standing on the back patio alone, a black car pulled up. It…it happened so fast. I was just standing there, and then the next second I was yanked inside, and a bag was shoved over my head.”
“What the fuck? You…you were kidnapped ? Christ, Hazel, are you…” It was stupid to ask if she was okay. None of this was okay. “I’m so sorry.”
A sharp, sarcastic chuckle leaves her, and I wince. Hazel is clearly furious about the entire situation, and it’s not like my apologies are going to do anything.
“Yeah. It was common for this group, I guess. They’d use dating apps to lure women to some place of their choosing. They’d figure out that we were alone, had no family, and were attractive. At least that’s what the cops told me.”
I’m at a total loss for words, my eyes wide as I listen to Hazel continue.
“They wore Halloween masks to hide their identities. I was knocked out pretty quick, and I came to in a warehouse with other girls there. They…they were going to traffic us.”
Holy shit. They were…Hazel was…sold?
“I got a good look at the ring leader, though. Neil James. I, umm, I wanted out. We all did, and I knew…I just knew that if I could get out of there, I could go to the cops with what I learned. I could put him away. It…it got me through the days that I was there until I managed to slip a hand free of my cuffs and get out.”
Hazel’s stare is distant, remembering the past, and she’s covered in new wounds as the scar tissue from the others is irritated.
“I ran all night until I got to a road. Someone picked me up and…I testified against him. He glared at me…it was terrifying. Every news report said that if it weren’t for my testimony, James would have walked. It’s safe to say he hates me.”
Realization clicks, and I clench Hazel’s hand as I put the pieces together. “You think he sent someone here to hurt you. The guy who attacked you. You think that?—”
“I know, Easton.” Hazel’s stare finally returns to mine, and I will never forget the horror I see in her eyes, the way she clings to my hand, deadly serious. “I know it’s him. The guy…he said he had a message for me.”
A sob chokes her, and Hazel tries to force it away as her expression goes angry—but still radiating tremendous fear.
“ He says hello, bitch. That’s what he said. Just like that.”
Hazel is trembling even harder, and I press her tighter to my chest. She cries harder and harder, every bit of her breaking down with the words she’s just said.
I know this truth was one she never wanted to share, and I silently promise to do everything in my power to keep Hazel safe from this fucking maniac.
“I think…” Hazel’s voice is muffled and mournful as she shoves her face into my chest. “I…I think I’m alive because James wants to torture me. To make sure this hurts.”
“Hazel, that’s?—”
She snaps her gaze to mine. “I ruined his entire empire, Easton. The last thing he said to me was that he’d ‘get me’ one day. He’s making good on that threat.”
I don’t fight her on it. Lord knows that’s more than enough reason for a guy like this Neil James to come after her. If he can.
He’s supposed to be in jail, but he clearly has people on the outside who he can use to get at Hazel. She isn’t safe alone in that apartment if that’s the case.
She needs state-of-the-art security and a bodyguard to keep an eye on her. She needs me.
“Move in.”
“What?” Hazel reels back, clearly shocked.
“You need to move in with me. Your apartment isn’t safe.
Hell, it’s right by where you were attacked.
” She’s staring at me like I’ve lost my mind, but I keep going.
“We don’t know how much this guy knows. How much the person here knows if they’re two separate people.
I have security and training. I can protect you. ”
“Easton, I can’t?—”
“You can. You will. This is the best option you have to keep yourself safe. That’s all I want.”
It hits me again that it is all I want.
I’m not looking to push anything else on Hazel. Her safety matters more to me than anything else.
It matters to me as much as Jade’s, and I remember that night with the fever. I felt about as panicky and terrified now as I did then.
So much of me hates to admit that, to fess up that this woman still means the world to me. But I can’t deny it.
I won’t say anything, though. I burned that bridge a long time ago. I just need Hazel to be free from harm.
That’s all.
“What are people going to think if I just move in with you?” Hazel shakes her head, her eyelids drooping. “I’ll be fine at the apartment.”
“No way.” I shake my head right back at her. “It’s not safe enough. Besides, we can tell people exactly what we want the trafficker to believe. That we’re dating.”
“I’m sorry, what?” She eyes me hard, little hazel daggers that pierce my chest. “Have you lost your mind?”
Yeah, probably.
“If it gets back to James that you have someone protecting you, someone living with you and at your side at all times, he might be too scared to try anything again. Jail’s not pretty, from what I understand. He might not want to risk going back or staying there for longer.”
Hazel stills, her eyes still wide as saucers. “You want me to move in with you to pretend we’re together to scare off some trafficker. Do you hear yourself?”
“I do. Trust me. But, like I said, I do this for a living. I know how guys like James think. He’ll either back off or, if he sends someone again, at least I’ll be with you this time. I’m an ex-military bodyguard. I’m pretty sure I can handle some thug.”
Sighing, Hazel drops her head, and I can tell that what energy she has is about to be used up.
“I’m not going to win this, am I?”
“No.”
I meet her stare dead on when she glances up at me. After a moment, she lets out a sigh and nods.
“Fine, fine. I’m too tired to fight you on it. But I get my own room, and you are not going to control where I go. The ‘dating’ is just for show, so don’t go getting any ideas.”
Nodding, I reach between us for her hand and give it a shake. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
There’s a flicker of worry on Hazel’s face, but she shrugs and turns into the bed, snuggling against me. Her eyes close, and she lets out a deep breath.
“Well, you can start by lying here until I fall asleep.”
“Whatever you need, Haze.” I rub my hand up and down her arm. “Whatever you need.”