Page 67 of Breaking Bristol

He took my hand and kissed the top. “I’ll pack a bag, then follow you to The Pig for dinner, then your place so you can get a good night’s sleep before work tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

“Yeah. Life with you definitely sounds good.”

CHAPTER 18

Shane

I spit out dust when another fucking truck drove past me in this hick-ass town as I filled up my tank in this dingy-ass fucking gas station. Why the best security firm in the country chose to build a branch out here was beyond me. They wouldn’t talk to me over the phone or make an appointment, so I was forced to come here and demand they see me.

I’d already wasted tens of thousands of dollars on others’ incompetence trying to find my sweet little princess. I’d used private detectives, bounty hunters, fucking everybody, but nobody could produce results. She wasn’t using her bank account and hadn’t even turned on her phone since the day she ran off. And there was nothing online either, no social media posts or photo software showing her face on security cameras. It was like she vanished into thin air.

I knew better, though. She was just playing a game. She wanted me to find her. We belonged together. She was mine and no one else’s. I knew she was mad at me the day we left on vacation. I took it too far when I threatened her mom and realized it immediately. She loved her parents, and she’d lose her mind if anything ever happened to them. I figured if I said sorry, she’d forgive me like she always did.

But that hadn’t happened.

Still, there was no way in hell I thought she’d be away from her family for this long, so on top of needing to find her so I could bring her back where she belonged, I had to make sure some predator hadn’t brainwashed her into being with him.

She was very much alive. If she was dead, I’d feel it. She was my other half, my soulmate, and because I was still breathing, I knew she was too.

The counter ticked, and I took the nozzle out and returned it to the gas pump. Once I started the engine, I looked in the mirror to make sure there wasn’t dirt on my face, then I pulled onto the two lane road and rolled past the Welcome to Warrenville sign.

My GPS had lost signal, but I had already researched where the security company was, so I headed there. I had to stop in the middle of the road so a bunch of people riding fucking horses could cross. I was annoyed and I looked around the vicinity while I was stuck. But what I saw made my nose sting and my skin crawl… annoyance long gone as feverish madness took its place.

There she was. My girl. My sweet little princess. She was standing in front of a run-down diner with a smile on her face. God, she was an angel. So gorgeous. Her smile got even bigger, and she laughed when a man walked up to her and touched her.

He put his disgusting hands on her face and bent down and kissed her before he wrapped his arms around her back. “No!” I watched in horror as she pushed up on her toes and slid her arms around his neck. Then the bastard lifted her off the ground and spun her around before kissing her again and setting her back on her feet. “Nonononono.” A horn honked behind me, and I took my foot off the brake and turned onto the next street, where I went around the block and parked where I had a view of the diner.

My heart pounded in my ears, my legs were bouncing, and my vision went black. She did that on purpose. She knew I’d be looking for her and would eventually find her. And when I did, she wanted me to see her with another man so I’d fight for her. “Okay, princess.” She wanted me to prove myself, so that’s exactly what I would do. “I’m coming for you.”

Bristol

“Stop moaning like that or you’ll be late to work.” Matthew scolded as he slid the fork out of my mouth.

We were having pie for breakfast, and it was delicious. Cricket had a bunch left last night so she gave it to us after we’d eaten. I licked my lips and lifted my shoulders like I didn’t know what he was talking about. “It’s that good, I’m sorry.”

“I used to think you were all shy and innocent, but you’re not at all, are you?”

No. I wasn’t. Not until Shane got his hands on me. “Does it bother you?”

“Hell no. I like it.”

“Good. I like you, too.”

He held my neck with one hand and used the other to hold my face. “I like your personality, but I love you.”

God, he was the best… and I was still hiding things from him. Guilt trickled through me. “I love you, too.” I brushed my lips against his and pulled away with a little tongue touch. “I need to get to work.”

“All right, sweetheart. I’ll be here when you get home. Want anything specific for dinner?”

“Surprise me.”

The skin around his emerald eyes wrinkled and he kissed me soft and sweet before walking me to my car. The drive to work was dazed because I couldn’t go on like this any longer. I was going to figure it out… soon.

It wasn’t so much about telling Matthew even though I was slightly terrified of what he’d do if he ever saw Shane. It was more so that I’d been vague and on occasion straight-up lied about my family so it didn’t seem like I wasn’t in contact with them. But the biggest reason I hadn’t told him was because when I did, I knew that he’d put an end to me hiding and drag me home if he had to.

He was all about family, and all about me, and when he found out what I’d left behind, he wouldn’t tolerate it. That was good. I wanted this to all be over, but I didn’t want it to end in tragedy, and I was afraid that was the only way things would unfold.