When Rafe made a decision, it was set in stone — at least in his eyes. All she could do at this point was try her best to keep up with him instead of being dragged along behind.
*****
As Ari walked back toward the table, Rafe stood, as good manners and her beauty demanded. She took his breath away. Even after a day of traveling and dealing with a less-than-pleasant situation, she held her head up high, and her face glowed.
He pulled out her chair, then leaned down, trailing his fingers along the bare skin of her neck as he whispered in her ear.
“I sometimes forget to breathe when you enter a room.”
Ari tensed in his arms, but then her shoulders went limp and she leaned back against him. This is what Rafe wanted. He needed her to trust him — allow him to show her he wasn’t the monster she believed him to be. He would take care of her — she just had to allow him to do so.
Walking back to his seat, their eyes connected, and the passion blazing in her expression made his decision. Dinner was over. It was time to show her what their time together would be like over the next few months.
“Check!” he called to the waiter. Anticipation burned as he stood again and took her arm. Suddenly, the hotel seemed all too far away.
Chapter Four
Shane
“This had better be good!”
“Shane? Is that you?”
Apprehension filled Shane as he sat up in bed, instantly awake upon hearing the fear in Lia’s voice. He glanced over at his clock, noting that it was three in the morning. Something had to be terribly wrong.
“Lia! What’s going on? Where are you?” he asked as he slid na**d from his bed and strode to his walk-in closet to grab the first set of clothes he came to.
“My car broke down at this rave party way out of town in an abandoned barn. Things got…well, it just got scary and I don’t know who else to call. Rafe’s in New York and Rachel will kill me if she finds out…”
“Give me the address. I’m on my way.” Shane finished dressing in a pair of jeans and his favorite sweatshirt, then grabbed his wallet and keys as he made his way down the stairs.
“I don’t know the address, but I have directions. You take the old mill highway out of town about ten miles and then turn onto a gravel road. There will be an orange spray-painted keg letting you know where to turn. Follow that out another ten miles and you’ll be able to find me.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in less than twenty,” Shane said as he jumped in his car and revved the engine. If he drove a hundred miles an hour, he might make it there that quickly. He’d certainly give it his best effort.
“Don’t hang up!”
Lia’s panicked voice made Shane gun the gas as he pulled from his garage and out onto the deserted streets. He didn’t like the thought of her being at some ecstasy party in the middle of nowhere.
“What in the hell were you thinking, Lia? Do you know the kind of crap that goes on at those parties?”
“I’ve never been to one. I just wanted to do something fun.”
“Lia, you aren’t a teenager anymore. You’re a twenty-six-year-old woman with a family that cares about you. You can’t do stupid things like this,” he lectured.
“I didn’t call you to gripe me out, Shane.”
“Great. Now you’re even sounding like a teenager.”
“Dammit! Listen to me! I called because I know I can count on you to be there for me when I need it. Can you please just help without making me feel worse than I already do?”
Before Shane could respond there was a banging sound, like someone pounding on her windows, followed by Lia’s scream, and then the line went dead. Shane immediately redialed but the phone just rang until it went to voice mail. The sound of her sweet and cheery recorded voice quickly soured his stomach as visions of what could be happening to her clouded his mind.
Terror engulfed him as he pushed the gas to the floor and sped from town. He almost passed the gravel road, and then nearly spun into the ditch when he yanked his wheel to the right and took the corner at ninety miles an hour.
His car would never again be the same after the way he flew down the gravel road, destroying his shocks. He couldn’t care less. The car was replaceable — Lia wasn’t.
It felt like forever before Shane found the dilapidated barn with screaming music filtering through its shabby walls. Throwing his car into park and jumping out, he was overcome with anxiety as he eyed the place, unsure of where to start his hunt for Lia. She could be anywhere.
Hoping for a miracle, he barreled through the seemingly endless miles of empty vehicles, his ears not missing a single sound around him as he dialed Lia’s number again and again. The farther he was from the barn, the easier it was to hear. He kept hitting resend when his call reached voice mail, hoping Lia still had the phone on her even if she couldn’t answer.
With every minute that passed, his stomach tightened further at the thought of what might be happening to her. His mind perversely recalled many horrifying stories he’d watched on crime shows, and he grew even more frantic in his pursuit. When he thought he’d searched everywhere and was just getting ready to call in the cavalry, he heard a slight chirping noise like that of a ringtone, and then he picked up voices. What they said lashed him into a fury.
“Come on, baby. You know you want to. Everyone comes to these parties to get high and get laid.”
“If you don’t stop now, my boyfriend is going to pound the crap out of you when he gets here!”
Shane rushed in the direction of Lia’s voice just in time to see her head whip back as some ass**le slugged her. She slumped over and another guy reached for his pants. Her clothes were ripped and Shane prayed she hadn’t been raped already.
Rage leading him, Shane rushed forward and knocked two of the four guys out before they even knew he was there. When the other two saw his face, they immediately retreated, leaving their friends to take their punishment.
As much as Shane wanted to bloody the two remaining guys and go after the would-be-rapists now scurrying away, he couldn’t fight the innate urge to help Lia first. Her body lay crumpled on the ground and blood was seeping from her cut lip.
His anger fought to be released, but Shane tucked it away as he gently lifted Lia in his arms and began moving toward his car.
“Shane? I knew you’d come,” Lia whispered as her eyes cracked open. Her hand lifted to his face and rubbed his prickly stubble.
He knew her faith in him was unwarranted — he wasn’t the hero she thought he was. Too many dark secrets from his past still haunted him. He acted carefree most of the time — it was how he survived.