Owned (Office Intrigue Book 8) by Nicole Edwards (year 2 reading books TXT) 📗

the bad people would get her. At the time, I wasn’t sure what he meant, but looking back on it, I realize he was a pervert. He would run his hand over my knee every so often, sliding higher until I would pull away, while he promised he would protect me if I would let him. I was terrified of him, but I pretended not to be. I’d seen Jimmy lose it, knew he wasn’t a nice guy.”

Christ Almighty, the bastard was a pedophile. It was no wonder Ransom had taken Braelyn away from there. I suddenly had a new respect for the man.

“That night, Ransom came in while Jimmy was sitting there. Jimmy’s hand was on my leg and I thought Ransom was going to kill him. The two of them argued, shoved each other, then left my room. A couple of hours later, Ransom came back, woke me up. He had a bag with him, and he started stuffing my clothes into it. I didn’t ask questions, not even when he told me we were leaving. I just slipped on my shoes and followed him out of the house.”

“Your parents didn’t know about Jimmy? About what he was doing?”

Braelyn shrugged. “I’ve always wondered if they did, but Ransom wouldn’t tell me.” She took a sip of wine. “That night, we went out through the upstairs balcony, took the stairs down. Ransom guided me through the dense trees at the back of the property. He kept telling me I had to be quiet. My parents had dogs, vicious ones, but they never came. I think Ransom locked them up somewhere. Maybe he drugged them. I don’t know. We walked for what felt like days but was probably only minutes. He stopped when we got to an old beat-up truck. I’d never seen it before. I remember wondering if it would even drive.”

She smiled now, and some of the fear left her eyes.

“Ransom was twenty at the time. He had his entire life in front of him. He could’ve gotten away from them long before that night. He had stayed because of me. He stayed to protect me. Since then, he’s been mother, father, big brother, and best friend, taking care of me, making sure I have everything I need.” Braelyn downed half the glass of wine, seemed to shore herself up. “I’m not naive enough to think they simply let us vanish, Talon. But I’ve held out hope that they’d never find us. We’ve been hiding in plain sight. They’re not that far away.”

“They are now,” I assured her. Far, far away.

“I know they’re the reason we’re here,” she continued, motioning with her hand at the area around us. “I know he went to you, asked for your help. By helping his friends, my brother shined a beacon on our identities, and he feels guilty, but he shouldn’t. If it’s meant to happen, it will. I truly believe that.” She looked out at the ocean. “I don’t know if our parents even care anymore. Not about us, anyway. About our transgressions against them, sure. We did the unthinkable, turning our backs on the family, and they can’t let that go. It undermines their authority. They have to feel powerful, and if it means taking us out to make a point, they won’t hesitate to do so.

“As for Jimmy…” She swallowed, continued. “I haven’t thought about him in years, but the minute I realized who he was, I knew I had to run. He called me doll face; that’s how I realized it was him. Not only was he there to take me, he was going to hurt me.”

I listened, careful to mask my expression, not wanting her to pick up on the anger slowly increasing in her defense.

“I don’t know how Ransom thinks this’ll help … being here.” Braelyn looked over at me.

“It will,” I promised. “You’re safe here.”

“For how long?” Her eyes implored me. “How long can we impose?”

“You’re not an imposition, Braelyn.”

She huffed a laugh. “Wait until we’ve invaded your space for a few days, then tell me that.”

Rather than argue, because I knew it wouldn’t do any good, I reached for Braelyn’s hand, brushed my thumb over her knuckles.

“You’re safe here,” I repeated. “Ransom’s safe here. And if you believe nothing else about me, believe that I can and will ensure nothing happens to either of you.”

Braelyn continued to stare into my eyes as though she was seeking the hidden secrets beneath. I wanted to tell her there weren’t any. I was an open book. It was how I lived my life.

But I figured actions spoke far louder than words, and I had every intention of showing her exactly who I was at my very core.

*

Braelyn

I wasn’t sure why talking about my parents always left me feeling both fragile and exhausted, but it did.

Granted, the only person who knew who my parents were and what they were capable of was Ransom. At least until now. Why I’d felt the need to spill my guts to Talon, I might never know. But from the moment I started talking, I found I couldn’t stop. And now that it was out there, I felt… Oddly, I felt better, if not a little worn out.

However, a girl could only spill so much in one day, which was why I decided to change the subject to something more interesting.

“What is it that Owned, Incorporated does, exactly?” I smiled and nodded when Talon offered to pour more wine. “Tiegan wasn’t all that forthcoming with details when she pretended to want to hire me.”

“It wasn’t pretend,” Talon said, adding more wine to my glass before setting the bottle back into the ice bucket. “There’s a job here if you want it.”

“Doing?”

His steel-gray eyes met mine. “At this point, pretty much anything you’d like.”

Confused but, at the same time, intrigued, I replied with, “I guess in order to make that decision, I’ll need to know what it is you do.”

His smile was slow and