“God, I had to do it.” I smooth my hand over her soft hair, but know we have precious seconds to leave while James is unconscious.
“Did you kill him?” Harlow asks with a voice full of fear and worry.
“I clocked him good, but he’s going to live. Grab anything out of the car you want to take with you. We need to get the hell out of here. Now.”
I take her hand in mine and we run to her car. She opens a side door and pulls out her purse.
“I have to take the box with me. All my memories are in it.”
Seeing it in the back seat, I open the door and grab it.
“You’ll have to place it on your lap. There’s no room in the damn car. Hell, let’s take your car and leave the damn Porsche.”
Harlow nods and wipes the last few remaining tears from her face. I notice her fingers are shaky, but the river flowing down her cheeks is replaced with determination.
“Get in.” I race around to the driver’s side, buckle myself in, and glance over at Harlow. She gives me a weak smile. “We’re heading back to the penthouse. James has a safe in his closet and I have a man there now trying to open it. Fingers crossed he does. I saw James putting papers in it yesterday. Who knows what he’s hiding.”
“Isn’t that illegal? I don’t want you getting into trouble for me.” Harlow worries her lip, always more concerned for others than herself.
“He’ll never know it was opened, unless we find something on him. If we do, he’s the one in trouble.”
“Thanks, Sin.” Her words and slight hopefulness reinforce my decision to save her from whatever hell lies ahead with James.
“You’re worth it, Harlow. I should’ve shut him up the second he opened his sick mouth.” I caress my hand over the worn fabric of her dark jeans and squeeze her thigh. She is so fragile, yet so strong. She was willing to go back with James to keep him from ruining my future as a doctor. I will recover from whatever he might have planned. I have the resources to fight him. Harlow has nothing and is willing to give up everything for me. No one has ever shown me a love with that much sacrifice. No one. Not even my grandmother.
“What I did was nothing compared to what you offered. Your very freedom for mine. I did it for you.” I reach over the center panel of her car and kiss her red, swollen lips.
“You have such promise. I couldn’t let you give it up for me.”
“Nonsense,” I say in almost a reprimand. “You need to see your worth, Harlow. It’s time.” I put the car in reverse, maneuver out of the parking space, glance to the ground, and see James lying by his car still passed out. A thought hits me and I throw the car into park and jump out.
Running around James’ car, I open the driver’s door and see his keys lying on the seat. I swipe them off the leather and rear back my arm. With all my strength, I toss them far into the lake.
I watch them hit the surface and disappear. Gone.
This gives Harlow and me more time to get back to the penthouse before World War III breaks out. I am hoping Bentley’s safecracker, Kurt, did his job while I have been here with Harlow.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Harlow
Sin pulls my car into the underground parking garage at James’ apartment building. Though James has often crashed here after a long day, the penthouse has remained a mystery to me. On several occasions, I’ve asked James to bring me here to live during the week, reasoning we could spend more time together, but he always brushed me off. Said he preferred establishing our life on his country estate—a place far away from the city I grew up in, where I remained hidden from everyone and everything.
I forgot I’m a person with a choice. Though, today, I made a choice for Sin and his future. I was willing to go back with James to ensure Sin wouldn’t be affected, and I’m in awe he put his future on the line by choosing me.
I gaze at his strong profile as he winds the car into the garage—the hard edge of his jaw, the strong pull of skin crossing over his high cheekbones, long, dark lashes that encase his uniquely golden eyes. But his full lips that were kissing me into a stupor only a short time ago make me want to beg to be kissed again. How I can desire a man after leaving another makes no sense, but I feel things for Sin I’ve never felt for any man before.
His beauty makes my breathing cease. His actions make my heart stop. How can I ever repay him? I fear what James will do to him. He will stop at nothing to ruin Sin and rejoice in his demise.
“We have to be quick,” Sin instructs as he places the car into park and kills the engine.
“Are you sure it’s safe to come back here?” I say. “He can track our cars.”
“I should’ve thrown his phone in the lake, too.” Sin looks at me with a drawn brow. “The man cracking the safe should have it open by now. When I left him to come meet you, he told me it wouldn’t take over an hour.”