Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Charlotte Mitchell

M y heart stops beating. Every cell in my body prickles with awareness.

Cop.

Oh my god, he knows, and by the blank expression on his face, he’s known for a while.

I am absolutely fucked.

A fine sweat breaks out across my back that has nothing to do with the sex. Was that why he was mad at me? Why he made sex almost hurt? Was it because I’m not who I said I was?

I swallow thickly, but my mouth is as dry as the desert. “You know?”

“I know,” he whispers angrily, his face hardening. And that post-sex bliss? It’s gone as if it were never there.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. How much does he know?

As I panic, he gets dressed in his pants but leaves his chest bare. Then, he takes a step in my direction, and unsure of what’s going to happen next, I back up, bumping into a couch. He could kill me in a second if he wanted to. One minute, I’d be here, and the next, I’d have a snapped neck with his cum still drying on my thighs.

“Now that your secret is bare, who are you really, Charlie?” It was said in such a deadly tone that I feel true fear curl in my chest.

I shake my head as tears threaten in my eyes. Angry tears because I was sure I’d never be made. Sad tears because that look he’s giving me isn’t one I want directed at me. Not from him. “I don’t know,” I answer honestly because I don’t.

“A cop.” He takes another step, and I try to back up farther, but I have nowhere to go. “A liar. A porn star. Her. ”

“Yes,” I murmur, wanting more than anything to drop my gaze from his. But I don’t. I hold it firm because, even though I might die in a few seconds, I still want to have some sense of dignity before I go.

I swallow thickly again and add to his list, “Broke. Scared. Unsure. Confused. Ever since I met you, I have no idea who I am.”

His eyebrows dip, and oddly, his voice softens. “I told you when you went into this that you’d find out who you are.”

I don’t question his mood switch. Instead, I say, “I thought I knew. I was wrong. This girl who stands in front of you? She has no idea who she is.”

The step he takes toward me isn’t as threatening, and I look up as he approaches me. “Strong,” he continues. “Independent. Loyal. Stubborn.”

“There’s that too,” I whisper so quietly that the crackling of the fire nearly swallows my words whole.

He searches my face, but he doesn’t relax his own. “No more lies. ”

“Okay,” I continue to whisper.

Reaching, he tucks a stray hair behind my ear. “What are you really doing here?”

Naked. Raw. Those are the things I wanted from him. Can I be the same? Can I strip myself bare in front of him?

Tears gather in my eyes again because this could go one of two ways. I could tell him, and that’s the end of us, and he lets me walk away. Or I could tell him, and he is forced to kill me.

Either way, it’s going to hurt.

“I’m undercover to bring down the sex trafficking operation.” My voice is clear and honest, and it’s enough for him to drop his hand and blink in surprise a few times.

“You know?”

I give him a small nod. “A dead body was discovered while being transported. I inserted myself into the business –”

“–into my life,” he interrupts.

“Yes.” It’s the only answer I give.

“You’re here to take it all away from me.”

“Yes,” I answer again, but by his look over my shoulder, I can tell he wasn’t talking to me. He was discussing his thoughts out loud. I press on, “I’m here to save the victims by getting to the head of the entire operation.” My words are enough for him to look at me again. “Your boss.”

He just stares at me for so long that I fear to breathe because of what might come next. I can almost read his thoughts, however, so I quickly say, “I didn’t – this isn’t – I hadn’t meant to fall for you. It just happened. Please, Nix, you have to believe me.”

“You’ve fallen for me?” A little anger has entered his tone again, but it’s better than the void of emotion it had a few seconds ago .

I snap my jaw shut then open it again. A frown takes over my face instead of uttering words. Any words. All words. Because I have fallen for him. “I’ve tried to protect you as much as I’ve been able to with my partner. I will continue to protect you. Please believe me that I’ll do what I can to get you . . .”

“What? A lessened sentence?” He chuffs softly. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Charlie.”

I raise my hands and scrub at my cheeks. “I don’t know. I don’t know! I –”

He reaches forward and snatches me into a kiss. I’m so taken by surprise that my eyes fly wide open. His brows are pulled together as he kisses me, and it’s over before I can even think of what that kiss means. He pulls away and murmurs, “You can’t save me from what I’ve done, from who I’ve become, but I can still save you.”

“What do you mean?”

“We will walk out of this house before anyone finds out who you are because, believe me, Charlie, someone will go snooping. Another star? Andre? Anyone. We will get in the car and I’ll drop you off near the police station. They can find you a new place to live, somewhere far, far away and –”

“And never see you again?”

“Yes,” he hisses with a pained expression. His thumb rubs across my cheek. “It’s the only way to make sure you continue to breathe.”

I shake my head. “That’s not going to happen.”

“It has to.”

“I’m not leaving you, and I’m not leaving the victims to die. Not when I’m close. Every day, I learn something new.”

“Stop!” He bends a little backward and growls. “You’re going to get us both killed, Charlie! ”

I grab his elbow and force him to look at me. “Find out who you are,” I say, quoting him. “Is this the man you want to be, Nix? Is this him? Because I can assure you that, around me, there are parts of you fighting to get out.”

Our breaths are heavy from our anger, from our adrenaline. From our fear, even. He doesn’t answer me, so I press on, “Tell me it’s a lie. Tell me, and I’ll do what you say and pass the case to someone else.”

His jaw flexes, but he keeps eye contact as he murmurs, “No, it’s not a lie. God damn it!” He grabs the base of his skull with both hands. “I had one rule, and that was to never grow feelings for my employees, but then you walked in, and that went right out the fucking window! And now here I am, seriously considering putting this” – he gestures between us – “at risk so that I can become a better person? Do you know what you’re asking of me?”

“Yes,” I mutter. I’m asking him to change the man he made himself. To choose me over his life’s work. “Will you do it?”

He gives his roots one last tug before he drops his hands back to his sides and tucks his chin to his chest. I watch his jaw muscles ripple and wait with bated breath for his answer.