Free The Wedding Trap (Second Service) by Adrienne Bell Page A

form the words.
    "I did," he said. He put his hand out to her. It was covered in blood. “You’re safe now.”
    "You killed him," she repeated, louder this time.
    He held his finger up to his lips. She glanced behind him. Just beyond was a city street, filled with sunlight and people. Someone could walk by at any moment. Someone could look down the alley and catch them with a dead body.
    "I had to. He was going to kill you, Beth."
    She shook her head frantically. "Why? Why would anyone want to kill me?" The words tumbled out of her. She didn't expect an answer, and he didn't give one.
    "Breathe," he told her. "Sit down if you need to."
    Beth nodded. She derived a strange sense of calm from the orders that he gave her. Someone else was in charge, and she didn't have to figure out what to do. She only had to listen. There was no reason in her brain right now. There was only the haunting image of life flickering out of the dead man's eyes.
    She slid down the wall until her legs were tucked underneath her.
    "I need to move him," Charlie said. His words floated in and out of Beth's head. “You might want to look away."
    Beth nodded, but her eyes stayed fixed on Charlie as he grabbed the dead man by the arms. He pulled him easily around the corner. With a barely a grunt, he lifted the large man into the dumpster and arranged some garbage bags over him. Then he pulled out his phone. He pressed a single button and waited.
    He spoke softly into the phone. Beth didn't catch every word he said, but it sounded like he was giving someone their location. After that there were some words she didn't understand, then a series of letters and numbers. Beth didn't try too hard to make sense of it.
    A minute later, he came over and held out his hand. She stared at it. He'd wiped off most of the blood, but there was still some buried in the creases of his palms and underneath his fingernails.
    "Beth," he prompted her, breaking her out of her dark thoughts. "I need to get you out of here."
    Her hand was openly shaking as she slid it into his. He pulled her up, and tucked her against his side.
    Beth winced as the light hit her eyes, making it almost impossible to see in the bright, midday sun. She hadn't been in the alley for more than a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.
    "Shouldn't we call the police?" she asked, once her brain had caught up.
    "I've already taken care of it," he said. The phone call. Of course he had.
    He started walking, pulling her behind him on the sidewalk.
    "Shouldn't we wait until they get here?" she asked.
    He shook his head. "No. There might be more men. They might be watching us right now."
    Beth's heart pounded. He didn’t have to clarify who he meant. More men who wanted to attack her. They could be around every corner. But why would they be? It didn't make any sense. None of this did.
    She stumbled, and he pulled her closer. She leaned against him, her legs like jelly, letting him take the brunt of her weight. He didn't seem to mind.
    "It's just the adrenaline," he said. "You'll be fine in a little while.”
    She nodded because she couldn't think of anything else to do. The people passing by paid them no attention. They didn't seem to notice the flecks of blood that dotted Charlie's jacket, or her shaking legs.
    "It's only another couple of blocks back to the hotel," he said. "You're going to make it.”
    Of course she would. What choice did she have? She couldn't break down in the middle of the street, just because her entire life had just changed back in that alley. She’d watched a man die. She’d been part of it.
    She couldn't think about that. Right now, all she had to do was concentrate on keeping one foot in front of the other.
    Somehow she managed.
    Then she had to get up to the fourth floor. She pulled away from Charlie and hurried through the lobby. She didn't care anymore if anyone thought that something was wrong with her.
    All she wanted to be was safe in her room, reasonably certain that no