Maya Banks - Colters’ Gift

Then she flew to the bed and lifted the mattress, reaching her hand frantically underneath it, reaching for the small memory card she’d taped to the underside.

She tore at it, the tape finally giving away. The plastic chip fell into her hand and she shakily peeled the tape away, staring at it in her palm.

Oh God. This was her fault. That woman had died because Lauren hadn’t had the courage to do what she should have done. How many other women had suffered because Lauren had only wanted to escape and to forget Joel Knight ever existed? And how selfish did it make her that she’d been so wrapped up in her own survival that she hadn’t given a single thought to women she could have protected and saved?

Poor little Lauren. So helpless and naïve. So damn stupid. This time she wouldn’t shake off the blame and tell herself that she’d made mistakes and that everyone made them. She couldn’t say that everything would be all right if she’d only had a fresh start and could forget her past.

Her past was there. Unchangeable. No matter how much she might wish differently. And it was affecting the lives of others. Her own. The women Joel used and abused. Murdered.

Revulsion gripped her.

She could have prevented this if she’d only been willing to stand up and do the right thing.

How ashamed would her family be? The Colters were all about doing the right thing. Standing up against injustice. They’d offered her unconditional support, but what had she offered them except lies and deception? What had she offered the women left to Joel’s abuse and mistreatment?

How could she ever look them in the eye again?

She looked down again at the disk in her hand and she closed her fingers, gripping the plastic card until it cut into her palm.

It was time to get her damn head out of the sand. Joel wasn’t going away. He wasn’t going to stop what he was doing until someone stood up and took him down.

No matter how terrified she was or how ashamed, it was time for her to be willing to bring him to justice. Even if it meant risking her own life to do it.

How could she move on with Liam and Noah, or immerse herself in the Colter family and surround herself with their support and her brother’s support if she knew it was at the expense of so many other women?

There was no future for her until she laid her past to rest. And there was no way to put her past behind her until she faced her demons and had the courage to do what it was she needed to do. What she had to do.

LIAM stared at Lauren’s closed door, worry gnawing a hole in his gut. He glanced at Noah to see his friend’s expression wasn’t any better.

“What the fuck was that?” Liam asked in a low voice.

Noah blew out his breath. “She’s holding back something. She hasn’t told us everything.”

“Goddamn.” He took a steadying breath. “She doesn’t trust us yet.”

Noah shot him a disgruntled look. “Do you expect her to this quickly? It may not be so much an issue of her trusting as it may be something big. Something that terrifies her. Look at it from her perspective. We barge back into her life, bust her for lying to us, and ‘oh by the way, we want a relationship with you.’ It’s a lot to take in such a short period of time.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Liam muttered. “What the fuck do we do now?”

Before Noah could respond, the bedroom door opened and Lauren stepped out, her face drawn and blotchy. There was a look in her eyes that Liam didn’t like. He couldn’t even put his finger on what it was exactly, but the woman who’d bolted into her bedroom was not the woman walking out right now. And that scared the shit out of him.

“Lauren?” he began hesitantly. Hell, he was at a loss for words. Not an affliction he usually suffered.

Her gaze skittered to him, and he was taken aback by the pain in her eyes. Worse than the pain was the fear that reflected in those soft brown eyes.

She was scared to death.

“I have to go back to New York,” she said, in a flat, emotionless voice.

Noah’s complete what the fuck? look mirrored Liam’s own reaction.

“Whoa, wait a minute here,” Liam said. “We need to talk, baby. Tell us what’s going on.”

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and then glanced to Noah, then back at Liam again.

“I have to go back. Immediately.”

Noah finally found his tongue.

“Tell us why,” he said bluntly.

Her lips trembled, and it was evident that she was clinging to her composure by the barest thread. One hand was fisted into a tight ball at her side and the other was shaking, her fingers quivering even when she tried to press it to her leg.

“I have to go to the police,” she said quietly. “I know he has cops on his payroll, but I have to try. I can no longer stand here and do nothing. Someone has to stop him.”

Liam could stand it no longer. He crossed the room and gently grasped Lauren’s shoulders. “Come sit down. Please? We’ll talk it out. You tell us why you need to go to the police and we’ll figure it out together, okay?”

For a moment he thought she’d argue, but then she sighed and let him walk her to the couch. Noah still stood by the coffee table, his brows drawn together in confusion—and worry—as Liam seated Lauren and then sat next to her.

“What the hell is going on, Lauren?” Noah asked.

Her balled fist was now in her lap, and slowly, she opened it until Liam could see a computer memory disk in her hand.

“I took this from him,” she said in a near whisper. “Or rather, I copied information from his laptop before I left.”

Oh shit. Liam glanced up at Noah to see the same grim fear in his friend’s eyes. This didn’t sound good. Not good at all.

Noah shoved the coffee table out of the way and knelt in front of Lauren. He didn’t try to take the disk from her hand, but he took her other one and rubbed it between his palms.