The Day Our Promise Breaks

Chapter 570

The distance between them closed, inch by inch.

Their breaths tangled together, heavy and warm.

But just before his lips met Evelyn's, Brooks stopped himself, holding back.

He gazed down at the softness so close he could nearly taste it.

Brooks' breathing lost its rhythm.

His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, tension thrumming through him.

A storm of emotions flickered in his eyes.

But in the end, the kiss landed gently on Evelyn's forehead-a feather-light touch.

A whisper of a kiss.

Gone before it could even begin.

It wasn't that Brooks didn't desire Evelyn.

On the contrary, he ached to be close to her.

But he wanted their next step-any deeper intimacy-to happen when Evelyn was fully awake, fully aware.

Halfway through the drive, rain began to fall, tapping insistently against the windows.

Evelyn slept on, undisturbed by the storm outside.

When the car finally stopped in front of Evelyn's new place, Brooks glanced over and saw she was still sound asleep.

He signaled for the driver to leave them alone.

He didn't wake her.

Sitting so still for so long, his legs prickled with uncomfortable numbness, but he didn't move, not wanting to disturb her.

slipped on his Bluetooth

his

At the hospital

to check on

about Dahlia

over a month

had barely boarded the boat when she realized something was wrong. The route was all wrong,

pointed to sent a chill

reading those words made Dahlia's skin crawl, a cold dread washing over

what awaited her if

she'd felt at escaping evaporated

sea, there was

her body, and used it to please the three

hardly going to say no-Dahlia had been their distraction, their plaything, from the

played along, did everything she

keep them satisfied, hoping

to the northern border.

won them not to deliver

they'd already made a deal

go would mean

stupid they knew which side their

was passed along, from one man to the next, all the way to the

she was shoved

survive, she welcomed every customer, doing

month this way, always waiting

out

who could help her

set her sights on

put on her best act, used every

And finally, it worked.

her, enough to risk everything and arrange

compound, Dahlia felt, for once, that

was alive

never expected that escaping the compound wouldn't mean

set things