Magic Moment by Angela Adams Read Free Book Online

later.
    “No big deal,” he said.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Me, too. That I called you a bitch,” he added quickly. “Reflex action when a woman beats me up.”
    “Do they beat you up often?”
    He gave her a half grin. “You’re the first.” He twisted off the cap and handed her the plastic water bottle. “Drink.”
    “Thanks.” She took a small sip, followed by a long swallow.
    “Drink more,” he ordered warmly. Her throat had to ache from crying and screaming.
    Chase watched her take two small sips. Her green eyes, usually vibrant, were dull. Golden wisps of hair were matted with sweat and blood. Her face was bruised and swollen.
    “Laura, did they rape you?”
    “No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “No. You got here … ” Her voice drifted off as she choked back more tears.
    His fingers itched to touch her. His arms ached to hold her, comfort her. No woman deserved this brutal abuse.
    While she sipped from the water bottle, his thoughts raced through his head like a marathon runner pounding the track to the finish line. His decision came quick.
    “Laura, we have to leave.”

Chapter Four
    “Leave? I don’t even know where I’m at.” Laura’s eyes darted around. “I’m on a boat?”
    He nodded his head. “My boat.”
    She was silent for a moment. “Where?”
    “Magic Lake Island.”
    “The Jersey shore?”
    “Yes.”
    “You’ll drive me home?” she asked. “Back to Philly?”
    He inhaled, then exhaled deeply. “We can’t return to the city.” Magic Lake Island was less than a two-hour drive to Philadelphia.
    “Why not?”
    He was silent for a moment. “Until we know why tonight happened, we shouldn’t go back.”
    Ron and Lou might have gone for backup, more men who would return to silence her — and Chase, too. He needed more information, like how she got on his boat. And why? How his father’s name had gotten tossed around. She needed time to heal.
    “I want to go home.” Her voice held an anxious edge. “I want to forget this happened. If you want to help me, you’ll take me home.”
    Chase raked his fingers through his hair and let out another frustrated sigh. How could he make her understand? “Laura, Ron is still out there.”
    “No. I want to go home. Back to my condo. Please, take me home.” She was insistent, her voice cracking. “Please.”
    “Laura, listen.” He paused. She had been through a trauma. He had to remain calm, take his time with her. “They can find out where you live. They can hurt you again.”
    Her green eyes widened and her lips trembled. “Ron — Ron knows where I live. I gave him my address when I got in the car,” she whispered. “If I go home, Ron might be waiting for me. If I can’t go back home, where will I go?”
    Chase thought for a minute. His solution came quickly, like the decision to let Ron believe he knew what the hell was happening on his boat.
    “Ever been to Chesapeake Bay?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “Where on the Chesapeake? Why there?”
    The person Chase trusted the most, the one person who never let him down, lived there. “Maryland. We can get there by boat. You’ll be safe.” He paused. “I need to think.” If he couldn’t think in Magic Lake, Sea Tower, Maryland was the next best place.
    “I don’t have any clothes.” She lowered her eyes. “They cut off my underwear.”
    “We’ll get you new clothes.”
    He kept some of his own clothes on the boat. He walked to the built-in wall closet, and opened the double doors. “For now, try this.” He held up a green sweatsuit.
    She frowned. “Too big.”
    “Safety pins are in the kit.” He nodded toward the first aid kit and handed her the garments.
    She studied the suit. “Do you have some socks? My feet are cold.”
    The closet had three built-in drawers. He pulled out one drawer and dug until he found a pair of white tube socks.
    “Thanks,” she said, taking them. She started to tug one over her right foot, then stopped. “They said