Free EXPOSE (The Billionaire's Rules, Book 6) by Kelly Favor Page B

really try to.
    Just the sound of his voice, so calm and
sure and deep—it was comforting.  
    The car sailed smoothly along as the CEO
maneuvered easily in and out of traffic, even while talking business and making
decisions on the fly.
    Her bags were sitting in the back seat
and Ivy still couldn’t believe that Cullen had actually insisted that she come
and stay with him for the weekend.   Not to mention, the fact that he was taking the day off work to watch
over her.
    She sighed, smiling a little at this
strange turn of events.
    But the smile died on Ivy’s lips when she
looked in the side mirror on the passenger door and thought she saw a black
sedan tailing them, with Lucas in the driver’s seat.  
    She sat up straighter and looked more
closely.   But then she realized it
wasn’t Lucas after all, and her breathing slowed.
    Cullen was off the phone now.   “Everything okay?” he asked.
    She nodded, sitting back in her seat and
trying to relax.   It had just been a
trick of her imagination.   Lucas
wasn’t tailing them like some ridiculous Hollywood movie.
    Except, she knew it wasn’t that
ridiculous.   Someone had taken those
pictures and texted her this morning, along with the threatening messages.
    “I’m just tired,” she said.
    “Do you have a headache?   Any nausea?” Cullen instantly replied.
    Ivy giggled a little at his caution.   “No, Cullen.   I don’t have a head injury.   I just bumped it a little.”   She touched the back of her head and
winced from the pain.   The bump
there was pretty big.   She’d hit it
good.
    “You can rest when we get to my place,”
he said.   “I’ll make you some food
and set you up with everything you need to be comfortable while you
recuperate.”
    “Okay,” she sighed, giving into his
insistence that she needed recovery time from her fainting spell.
    The truth was that she felt mostly fine,
other than the sore noggin.   What
was bothering her had little to do with the fall and everything to do with the
reason she’d passed out in the first place.
    As they pulled up to the reserved parking
spot in front of Cullen’s building, he swore under his breath.  
    Ivy followed his perturbed gaze and saw a
woman sitting on his front steps, smoking a cigarette.   It was the woman she’d seen fleeing his
apartment the other day in the early morning hours.
    “Who is that?” Ivy asked, glancing at him
to see his reaction.
    Cullen’s face was impassive, his
expression unreadable.   But his eyes
had hardened into ice once more.   “Nobody you need to worry about,” was all he said as he parked.
    When they got out of the car, Cullen went
and grabbed the bags from the backseat and then told Ivy to walk with him.   “Just stay with me,” he said
softly.   “And no matter what she
says, ignore her.”
    As he gave these instructions, the woman
put out her cigarette and started towards them.   “I need to talk to you,” she said, her
voice pleading.   She was wearing a
very chic dark coat and sunglasses, and her hair was pulled tightly back in a
ponytail.   “Please, don’t ignore
me.”   Her voice broke in
midsentence.
    Cullen walked stiffly forward, motioning
for Ivy to stay close.   He didn’t
respond to the woman.
    Ivy couldn’t help but look at her.   Was she an ex-lover?   If so, why was Cullen behaving so
heartlessly towards her?
    The woman raised her voice, stepping in
front of them now on the walkway.   She pulled her sunglasses off and Ivy was alarmed to see the dark
circles and bags beneath her eyes.   It seemed to add two decades to the woman’s age.  
    “It’s getting worse,” the woman said to
Cullen.   “If you won’t help, I don’t
know what else to do.   You have to
at least try.   Please, help me.   Please.”
    Cullen didn’t respond, but she wouldn’t
move.   Finally, he addressed her in
a formal sounding tone.   “Move
aside.   I will call the police if
you continue harassing me.”
    “Why