Presley scrambled up and ran toward the balcony, taking in hitching breaths. “Roger! I can’t believe you came,” she gasped, half-stumbling as her shin hit an end table. “I’m so sorry, for everything. I never wanted to do any of those things—”
“Stop right there, you little bitch!” Henry bellowed as he thrashed wildly, banging against the couch. “You do what I tell you, or …” He stopped, grunted, and there was a ripping sound as the ropes around his wrists gave way. Shit, this asshole was way stronger than he needed to be. “Or I’ll make you wish you were dead,” he said as he slapped an arm on the coffee table in front of the couch and pulled himself up with a manic gleam in his eyes. “You’ll be wishing that for weeks before I finally kill you.”
I’d had more than enough of Henry Aaron. “You know what, Presley? You’re right,” I said, reaching back to pull the gun Agent Smith had given me from my waistband. “I do have to kill him.”
Nothing in me hesitated as I pulled the trigger and put a bullet through his forehead.
Presley released a breathless cry of shock as the gun thundered through the room, and then shivered and stumbled toward me. “Is he dead?” she said hoarsely as tears started streaming from her eyes. “Oh my God, is he really dead?”
I raced the rest of the way down the steps and caught her just as she wavered and started to collapse. “Yes, he’s dead. He’s gone,” I said, holding her as tight as I dared while she shuddered against me, sobbing. I didn’t know exactly how bad he’d hurt her, and I was trying not to make it worse. “It’s going to be okay now. I promise.”
I led her gently to the nearest overstuffed chair and settled her in it, then perched on the arm next to her. “Let’s just catch a breath for a minute, and then I’ll get the FBI here to clean this up,” I said. “Don’t worry. They already know you aren’t the bad guy here.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” she whispered. “I just can’t believe …” She trailed off, and her battered face went stiff with determination as she produced a pen like mine from her pocket. “I never want to see this thing again,” she said in shaking tones. “Here, I want you to—”
“No. You can’t give it to me,” I said gently. “If you’re really not going to keep it, we have to make sure that the pen stays inactive.”
She flashed a look of distress. “I don’t know how to do that.”
“Well, basically you just don’t give it to me or anyone,” I said. “I think you have to be sure that you’re not giving it away.”
“Okay, fine,” she said uncertainly. “You can’t have the pen. I’m keeping it.”
As she started to put it back in her pocket, I snatched it from her hand. And just like Wayne’s pen had when I took it from him, the color faded away until the pen looked like an ordinary ballpoint.
“There, you see?” I said, showing her the pen. “That’s what they look like when they’re inactive.”
She gave a slow blink. “You mean it won’t work anymore?”
“I don’t think so,” I said as I put the dead pen in my own pocket. “I mean, maybe it would if you took it back or I gave it to you. But then again, maybe it wouldn’t.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter, because I don’t want that thing,” she said with a shiver. “I just want …” She looked at me, her green eyes filled with pain. “I don’t know what I want. It’s been so long since I had control of my life, I have no idea what to do now.”
I smiled and carefully took her hand. “Why don’t you come back to my base with me?” I said. “At least for now, until you make up your mind about things.”
“Really? You’d let me do that?” she said with a tentative smile.
“Of course. Believe me, I know none of this was your fault,” I told her.
She sank back into the chair with relief. “Thank you, again,” she said, and tilted her head up at me. “What if I decide … that I want to stay with you? I mean, I wasn’t lying when I said that I really like you. A lot.”
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want,” I said as I held her hand. “I really like you, too.”
She started to smile again, but her face fell. “Roger, I do want to stay with you. But I don’t have anything,” she said. “My brother controlled everything. This place isn’t even mine, it’s his. He’s been keeping me prisoner with his guards around all the time, making sure I didn’t run, and I …” She shivered, got up from the chair and walked a few paces away. “I don’t have any money or a job or anything to offer. I’d just be a burden.”
I went to her and touched her shoulder. When she turned around, I said, “I hear you’re a damned good poker player. Is that something you like doing?”
“I love it,” she said, her brow furrowing slightly. “But how’s that going to help?”
“Well, you could do that,” I told her with a smile. “Play poker, host tournaments, even become a dealer if you want to. Did I happen to mention that I own a casino?”
Her face lit up. “You do?”
“Yep. And I’m rich,” I said. “So, you don’t have to worry about any of that stuff. If you stay with me, you can do anything.” I took her hand again. “I want to take care of you, that’s all. You’ve been through enough.”
She gave a little cry and threw her arms around me. “I can’t believe it. This is amazing,” she said. “All this time I thought I’d never get away from Henry, and now …” She looked up at me and smiled. “Yes. I’d love to come with you.”
“Let’s go, then,” I said, leading her out of the room so I could make arrangements to wrap things up and bring her to the base. “I think you’re really going to love my place.”
Thank You for reading!
Curious about what happens to Roger next?
Find out in To Vegas with Love!
Author’s Note
Dear reader, if you REALLY want to read my next Pen novel- I’ve got a bit of bad news for you.
Unfortunately, NO ONE will tell you when the next comes out.
You’ll probably never know about my next books, and you’ll be left wondering what happened to Roger, Skye, and the gang. That’s rather terrible.
There is good news though! There are two ways you can find out when the next book is published:
1) You join my mailing list by clicking here.
2) You follow me on my Facebook page or join my Facebook Group. I always announce my new books in both those places as well as interact with fans.
Doing either of these, or both for best results, will ensure you find out about my next book when it is published.
If you don’t, NO ONE will ever tell you about my next release. Please take a few seconds to do either of these so you’ll be able to join Roger, Skye, and the gang on their next adventure.
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