Electrified(105)

“You deserve to die for saying that alone, calling Lila a whore, but I’m going to have mercy on you and let you rot in prison.” Carson’s voice sounded smug as he said, “There it’ll be your turn to feel what it’s like to have a dude shove his dick in your mouth, as well as other places.”

“Look, take her if you want, but I need a deal,” Elon said as he shoved Lila toward Carson.

Stunned at the sudden movement, Lila stumbled since she was still blindfolded and couldn’t see what was going on. Thank God, she didn’t think she could watch what just happened. It was bad enough hearing it, but seeing Carson face off with Elon would be too much for her to handle.

Carson caught her as she went flying forward and tucked her behind his back, keeping one arm behind him, holding her close to him. She buried her head into his back, breathing him in.

Carson isn’t part of this. He’s who he said he is, ex-FBI.

He’s actually rescuing me!

“Good thing you’re a dumb fuck, Elon,” Carson said. “See, if you want a deal, you need to hang on to the bargaining chip. Now I have Lila, and Ray’s coming to get you. No deals, my man.”

Lila heard the other man grab Elon and restrain him in handcuffs, like he did to Sam Charles.

The room was silent other than the man called Ray reading Elon his rights as Elon cursed and spit at him, and the noise drifting in from outside the office. Lila felt her arms being released from the ties behind her back. Carson took a moment to massage her sore muscles, then she felt herself being slipped into her yoga pants and tank top, the same clothes she had been wearing when she was taken from her house. They smelled awful, but she didn’t care.

Warmth flooded her when she was wrapped in a soft blanket and lifted into Carson’s arms. She didn’t even realize she was shivering until then. Cradled like a baby, her face snuggled into Carson’s neck, Lila let out a long sigh as he started walking.

She was so relieved to be covered up physically from whatever waited for her outside this room. Still without her sight, her eyes covered tightly in the blindfold, she wasn’t in a hurry to take in any more of the awful warehouse and its activities.

“Lila, leave the blindfold on until we get out of the building. I don’t want you to have any more memories of this place than you already do,” Carson whispered in her ear, verbalizing her exact thoughts, emphasizing their connection, and making her feel even more secure.

It also occurred to her that he was only referring to her as Lila, not Sienna. She wondered how much he knew about her past and what had brought her to this terrible place, but she stayed silent, still processing everything that had happened.

Carson dipped his chin and pressed his cheek against hers. “I got you now, and I’m not letting go. I’m going to take you someplace safe, and make it all better.”

Lila felt him smooth her hair down her back, brushing it behind her ear when he said softly, just loud enough for her to hear, “Lila. You’re safe, honey. You can stop running. You can be whoever you want to be. With me, I hope. But first I’m going to get you the hell out of here.”





CARSON COULDN’T shake the bad feeling that nagged him, despite the fact that he finally had Lila in his arms. As soon as he could, he settled her into the back of a town car he’d called when it looked like the takedown was actually going to happen, not wanting to let Lila out of his sight long enough to drive. Someone from the Bureau could return his car. Adrenaline still coursed through his body as he slid in next to her, then pulled her onto his lap. He had saved his girl, busted the bad guys, and made the FBI look damn good in the process.

Technically, he was a “hero,” but he felt like anything but that. The truth had to finally come out about who he really was, what he was doing out west, and why he found and rescued her so quickly. And he dreaded Lila’s reaction.

Once settled into the backseat with Lila in his lap and the privacy screen up, Carson ran his hand down the side of her face, grazing his thumb along her temple, and gently removed the blindfold. She looked spent, emotionally and physically. Leftover eye makeup was smeared across her lids, both eyes were bloodshot, her soft, natural green eye color dulled from exhaustion, and her cheeks pale from stress. But the tiny fleck of spirit behind her eyes was still alive.

She was stunning.

He finally understood what the mysterious draw, the gaze that captivated him from the beginning, had been in her eyes. It was life, love, and unbridled passion waiting to be unleashed. It was only a little speck, but so vibrant it stood out from behind colored contacts and a well-constructed persona.