“And if it’s not him, then it will be the next predatory bosswho paws at you while you work a job you hate so you canscrape by. What a life it is you’re protecting.”
“Some of us have no choice!” she screams, slamming her fistsagainst my chest.
I press forward closer, pinning her against the wall of theelevator. She’s a captive lightning bolt, trembling andtwitching with emotion she can’t keep bottled up anymore.
I lean close and brush my lips against her ear. Her breathcatches, her chest hitches, her writhing hands go still.
“You do have a choice, Belle.”
She shakes her head without looking at me. Her hair is fallingout of its sleek knot. “No, I don’t. You took that away fromme.”
I push off the wall and spin away from h
