Here Comes Trouble (Trouble, Tennessee 0.50)

Allister should’ve felt guilty, remorse on some level. Regulations were in place to ensure the safety of all women living there. And his closest friends—Ryan, Derek, and Bradley—had abided by them and had apparently trusted him to do the same or else they would’ve been in her room, too.

The door slammed, jerking him from his thoughts. He immediately wheeled around and was as tongue-tied as he’d ever been.

Ellie’s round face, with its ivory-snow complexion, showed no signs of age or maturity for that matter. How did someone survive what Ellie had experienced without showing the time lines of fret in their forehead or worry’s wrinkles around her eyes?

Dear God, he mused. It’s been two years, not a century.

His gaze traveled down her face and body, stopping at her neck where the evident bruising showed a madman’s marks. Denny had choked her?

Fucking bastard.

Allister avoided the high swell of her breasts, noticing instead how the towel met from one end to the other, completely wrapping around her like a cocoon. He was afraid to ask, afraid to offend her by mentioning the obvious.

Other than her breasts, she was indeed thin. Denny had either kept her imprisoned or in her limited freedoms, she’d been unable to eat a healthy diet due to wrecked nerves.

His eyes burned from his anger, from his disappointment in himself. He should’ve saved her from all this. He could’ve saved her!

They stared at one another for a short time before he realized they hadn’t spoken at all. “Hello, Ellie.”

“Why am I not surprised to find you here?”

“Aren’t you glad to see me?” He prayed for strength then and he wasn’t exactly a prayer-saying kind of man. All things considered, he needed someone on his side. If things didn’t go according to the way he’d sort of played this out in his mind, he wasn’t sure how he’d respond. He knew from experience, facing life without Ellie had presented its challenges. Worse, life without Ellie offered few satisfying rewards.

“You were behind the glass when your brother ‘processed’ me.”

“Yes.”

“Then you should know why I’m not exactly glad to see you.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. You tried to cover it up at first but failed miserably.”

“Doesn’t the truth set a person free?”

“You tell me.” She should know all about the truth by now. She’d heard enough lies. If Denny was talking, he was lying. He’d been that way for as long as Allister could remember.

“You stand there acting like I owe you something, like you have a right to be here.”

“I do.”

“You don’t, Allister.” Conviction existed in her voice. Strength lingered in every syllable. Had she been pissed off at him this whole time? If so, why hadn’t she looked for him?

Another thought entered his mind—she hadn’t known where to find him.

“You blame me. I get that.”

“I blame you more than I blame myself,” she said, returning to the bathroom and emerging a minute later wearing a white terrycloth robe.

To devil her, he should’ve told her, she looked sexier in the robe, but he had a feeling if he bit his tongue, he might fare a little better.

She went to her luggage and retrieved a few hair products from the outer pocket and tossed them to the bed. Once she flipped her hair over and ran the comb through her hair, Allister nearly came in his jeans. The robe not only accentuated her full natural rack, but it seemingly pushed her cleavage high enough for show.

Ellie faced the wall, but with the view in the mirror, she might as well have been standing right in front of him. Before he could stop himself, his arms were around her. He rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Let me go!” She tried to wiggle free, but he refused to release her. Immediately, she wept. Her cries were heartbreaking.

“I won’t let go, Ellie. Not this time. I can’t. We’ve been there before.” He sat on the bed and cradled her in his arms, devouring her a thousand ways in his mind while only offering her comfort in reality. “Don’t fight me, Ellie. Please. Not now. Not after what you’ve been through and what I’ve feared in my mind.”

Willing his tears away, he held her only tighter, breathing out roughly against her nape. “I can’t lose you again. I won’t. You’ve been a huge part of my life just as I’ve been a part of yours.”