“What?” All the strength sapped from her body and she slumped in her chair.
“I’m sorry, Jenna. The prisons are all bursting at the seams, and they’ll use any reason to free up a cell if someone appears to be reformed.”
Her mind ran back over the last two weeks, all that time when she’d believed herself to be safe, but he’d been out all along. Had she slipped up and left a trace of herself somewhere? Despite all of her cautiousness, there was bound to have been something.
Panic began to build inside her. She needed to leave. She needed to keep moving, and stay ahead of him at every turn. It was the only way he wouldn’t catch up with her and kill her.
Jenna got to her feet, knocking her coffee cup and spilling milky liquid all over the table. She ignored the mess.
Nick’s voice came, concerned, down the phone. “Jenna? Jenna, are you still there?”
“I’m sorry, I have to go.”
She ended the call and stumbled blindly toward the door, not even thinking about where she was going. Her instincts had kicked in, to fight or flee, and with no one to fight, she had no other choice but to run.
As she barreled through the door, she collided with a big, hard body. She shoved the person away, flapping with her hands.
Someone caught her wrists. “Hey, Jenna. Hold on. What’s wrong?”
She blinked and realized Ryker held her by the arms.
“What’s wrong?” he said again, more gently this time.
And she burst into tears.
Chapter Six
Ryker’s strong arms wrapped around her and enfolded her into his chest.
She found herself with her face pressed against his t-shirt, inhaling the masculine scent of him, and soaking up the warmth of his skin. Her hands, seemingly of their own will, snaked around his back, grasping at his t-shirt.
She sensed the waitress from the café, and the few patrons they had, staring out at the scene in front of the shop. Let them watch. She had more important things to worry about than a few stares.
For the briefest of moments, she felt like giving in. She wanted to let go of what little control she had in her life. She’d let Garrett find her and face the consequences. She wanted to tell her whole story to Ryker, to have him comfort her, just as he was doing now, and maybe even promise to protect her.
But then she pulled back. No, those types of thoughts were dangerous. She couldn’t let Garrett anywhere near Ryker, or Mikey, for that matter. And right now, Ryker had no idea what she was upset about. If he knew she had an angry, violent ex-boyfriend on her tail, he’d probably put as much distance between them as possible. She had to keep reminding herself that they’d only just met. He knew nothing about her.
Though it broke her heart to do so, she forced herself to step away. She wiped her cheeks dry with the ball of her palm and turned her face from him.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to lose it on you.”
His brow furrowed in concern as he looked down at her. He reached out and lightly touched her elbow. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I can’t.”
“I want to help you, Jenna, but I can’t if you don’t let me.”
“Why?” she said, suddenly angry with him. “Why do you want to help me? We just met and you’re rescuing me off the side of the road, and taxiing me around town, finding me somewhere to stay, and bringing me food. Haven’t you got anything better to do with your time?”
His jaw tightened, his blue eyes growing a shade darker in the bright, morning sunlight. “Jenna, the person standing before me right now looks like she needs help. She looked like she needed help when she was struggling down the side of the road after her car broke down, and she looked like she needed help when she found herself without transport in a strange town. As far as I can see, you’re still in need of help now. I like you, Jenna. So shoot me, but when I saw you struggling with your bags down the road, with your ponytail bouncing and, to be honest, the sight of your ass moving kind of got my attention, I wanted to stop for you. And then I pulled over and your face was even cuter than the rest of you. I literally had to stop myself staring at the way your t-shirt was damp and clinging to your chest. I figured I was pretty much the luckiest guy on earth to have been the one to drive by right at that moment.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. The negative voice in her head piped up, wanting to say ‘but my ass is huge, and my breasts aren’t perky enough,’ but she managed to stop the words coming out of her mouth.
“I … I …” she stuttered, not knowing how she was going to finish the sentence.