Even for the short time she remained here, she deserved better than a fucked-up man who carried around too much bitterness from his past. He’d been forced to keep horrible secrets from his brothers that no five-year-old boy should have seen or endured. He’d buried all those repulsive, disturbing memories as deep as he could, but they were always there in the back of his mind, haunting him like a ghost. No matter how hard he tried to forget, the anger and resentment would never be completely gone, and he knew without a doubt his mother’s actions, on more than one occasion, had destroyed his ability to believe in love.
But even knowing he carried around a shit-ton of baggage, Levi still couldn’t bring himself to let Sarah go. And he wasn’t prepared to think about her leaving him until the time came and he was forced to do so.
“I’m ready,” Sarah said as she came back into the kitchen. She took one look at his face, and worry creased her brows. “Is everything okay?”
God, she was already so tuned in to his moods, when he was normally very adept at keeping his emotions under wraps. “I’m good,” he lied, wanting to leave the past where it belonged. He picked up his truck keys and gave her a smile. “Let’s get you home.”
A few minutes later, they were in his vehicle and had just turned out of his neighborhood when he cast a quick glance across the cab at her. “Which direction to your place?”
She fidgeted in her seat and wouldn’t look at him. “Umm, you can just drop me off at the store.”
He wasn’t surprised that Sarah was insisting he leave her at the Circle K where he’d picked her up a couple of hours ago, but the night that he’d gotten shot, as a cop he’d noticed something before heading into the store. There had been no other cars parked anywhere near or around the mart, and with only Sarah working, he remembered wondering where her vehicle was. And then everything had escalated so quickly with the robbery, and that thought had been the last thing on his mind.
But now, he wasn’t about to take her in that direction until she assured him of a few things first. “Do you have a car there?”
She hesitated, and even though he suspected her answer, he pushed for it. “Sarah, answer me.”
She glanced out the passenger window. “No, I don’t have a car, but a friend is going to pick me up.”
The words came out of her in a rush—the same exact excuse she’d given Clay that night at the hospital when he’d offered her a ride home. Had she made even the slightest effort to look him in the eyes, Levi might have believed her about the friend. But he’d been a cop long enough to recognize the signs that she wasn’t being truthful—her delayed responses, the fact that she’d yet to meet his gaze, the unsteady tone of her voice—all instinctively told him that she was hiding something. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten that impression, and he was betting that whatever secrets she was keeping all tied into her less-than-desirable job that undoubtedly only paid minimum wage, her insistence that she was leaving the city soon, and now, her issue with him driving her directly home.
“I’ll give my friend a call as soon as I’m at the mart, so you don’t have to wait around,” she told him as she clasped and unclasped her hands in her lap in a nervous gesture.
“Don’t,” he said, and while his voice was soft, there was no mistaking the warning in his tone.
Finally, she glanced at him, her body language and the wide-eyed look in her gaze filled with distinct wariness. “Don’t what?”
Fuck. He gripped the steering wheel hard. With his patience hanging by a thin thread, he found a legal parking spot on the street and pulled over to the curb. He put the truck into park and turned his entire body toward her, trying to keep his frustration at a manageable level.
“Don’t lie to me, Sarah. Ever,” he said gruffly, wanting her to trust him with whatever was going on in her life. “Starting right now with the answer to my question. How do you get to work every day and home every night?”
Those full lips he’d ravished not so long ago pursed ever so slightly, and she looked him directly in his eyes. “I take the bus.” She shrugged a shoulder. “It’s not a big deal.”
It was a big fucking deal to him when she was being dropped off at a bus stop in a shitty part of town and still had to walk to the store or wherever the hell she lived.
“I’m taking you home, because I’m not letting you get on a goddamn bus this late at night.” It drove him crazy to think she took public transportation all alone after midnight and anything could happen to her. “Give me your address.”
She shook her head, her expression obstinate. “No. I’ve been on my own a long time and I can take care of myself.”
He knew that was true based on what she’d shared with him earlier, but he couldn’t deny the protective instincts she stirred in him. Being in law enforcement, it was his duty to defend people, but he’d never been one to get involved in a woman’s life who he was dating, or dictate the things she did. Again, Sarah was quickly becoming the exception to every goddamn rule he’d set for himself.
“This isn’t a choice, Sarah,” he said, knowing he was far more stubborn and tenacious than she could ever be, and he wasn’t backing down. “I want to make sure that you get home safely, so this isn’t going to happen any other way. Where do you live?”
She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “You want to know where I live?” She asked the question like a dare. “Fine. Let me show you.”
She gave him an address in Englewood that he calmly punched into his navigation system, even as he was silently thinking in his head, Jesus fucking Christ. Levi knew the general area was a wasteland for all levels of crime, and it was no place for a single, vulnerable woman to live.
As he started driving again, Sarah opted to remain quiet and kept her gaze averted. Yeah, she was pissed at him for being so pushy, but when it came to her well-being, he didn’t give a rat’s ass. Her welfare was his main concern and priority.
He followed the directions on his GPS as the little arrow took them through a low-income, gang-infested area and brought them closer and closer to their destination. A block away from the address, Levi stopped at a red light and glanced through the windshield to see what was up ahead on the right-hand side. A sickening sensation swirled in the pit of his stomach when he caught sight of the two-story Sleepy Time Motel and the brightly lit VACANCY sign. Illuminated below that was the draw for any prostitute, drug addict, and other unsavory activities: Hourly rates available.
No fucking way. He’d busted a few drug dealers and hookers at this run-down location, and Jesus Christ, he wanted to believe there was some kind of mistake with the address, but when the light turned green and he started driving forward, it was Sarah who confirmed his worst fears.
“You can drop me off at the curb in front of the motel,” she said quietly. “I can walk to my room from there.”
He gave her a quick, incredulous glance, trying like hell to remain calm and level-headed when his entire body vibrated with anger—not at Sarah but the situation.
“That’s not a fucking option,” he said, his tone uncompromising as he turned the truck into the driveway of the motel. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight until she was locked in her room, and even then he didn’t know if he could truly drive away and leave her alone. “Where is your room?”