Free Determined: To Win (Determined Trilogy Book 3) by Elizabeth Brown Page B

to me. But he wasn’t there. I looked up. His pillow hadn’t moved since last night and the covers were still tucked in. Where was he? Did he not come home? My mind started to race and as I started to look up, the door to the bathroom opened.
    Thank God . David was standing there, freshly showered, with just a towel wrapped around his hips.
    “Hey,” I said, my voice still husky from sleep. “What time is it?”
    He noticed me stir, and came over, sitting next to me. “Sorry baby, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He kissed me on the forehead and I inhaled deeply, my body instinctually taking in his scent. “It’s seven.”
    “Is everything okay? Did you sleep last night?” I asked, looking him over. Despite the shower, he looked trashed. His eyes were red and had dark circles under them. Even the skin on his face looked dried out and worn.
    He rubbed his eyes. “No. Too much to do. I just came home to shower and get a change of clothes. I’ve got to head back to the office by eight.”
    “David,” I said carefully, “What is going on? You’re starting to worry me.”
    He looked down at me, his expression carefully guarded. I could tell he wanted to say something. I sat up against the headboard.
    “Please. You are working around the clock. Clearly, you’re exhausted. If you are going to put yourself through this, I need to know it’s important and that you are okay. Or that you are going to be okay. It’s only fair. What if I suddenly started disappearing for days on end? You would feel entitled to know what was going on, right?”
    He closed his eyes and took a breath. I couldn’t tell if he was angry. I braced myself.
    “You’re right, Samantha.”
    I swallowed and nodded, encouraging him with my eyes. “Tell me. Please.”
    “I can’t tell you everything, for your own good. But it’s Brian.”
    I swallowed again. “So what’s happening?”
    “I can’t say.” His voice was soft. It was the voice of a man who had been exhausted from battle.
    “You can’t say, or you won’t say? Why? Are you in trouble? He’s not back, is he?”
    David shook his head slowly. “We aren’t sure. He’s doing a damn good job of covering his tracks. Every time we get a handle on him, he slips away.”
    This was very troubling. Brian was taking David’s attempt to buy his company as a personal affront, and was fighting back with more than just business prowess. He had already demonstrated that he wasn’t limiting the fight to lawyers and courtrooms.
    “Are we safe?” My thoughts immediately went to my sister. Even having a security detail hadn’t kept us safe.
    David pulled me in by the shoulders and rocked me gently. “Don’t worry. I am doing everything in my power to keep you safe, Samantha. There is no way he is going to get to you. There is no way I will let him. Do you understand? No way. I need you to trust me. I will take care of this. Just give me a few more days.”
    I pulled back and looked at him in the eyes. Those poor, sweet eyes. The normal heat I felt had been replaced with desperate longing and exhaustion. I wished I could press the fast forward button and skip past all this for him.
    “Just promise me you’ll be safe,” I whispered. I fell back into him, and he wrapped his arms around me.
    “I will baby. I will.”
    David left soon after, but not without leaving a kale smoothie for me in the kitchen. As soon as I saw it, I realized I had completely forgotten to ask him about the woman I saw him with. I tried to put it out of my mind. I needed an answer but I also didn’t want to stress him out while he was dealing with Brian. I grabbed the bright green liquid and meandered around the apartment, feeling a little listless. I had to volunteer at the children’s center, but that wasn’t until the afternoon. I wandered slowly from room to room, taking stock of my new home. David’s fortress in the sky.
    I passed David’s empty office. I padded in quietly, and sat down at his desk. The