Free Save Your Soul (Body & Soul #2) by Rochelle Paige Page A

before he pulled out and lifted me into his arms. “I think I can do better once I get you in our bed.”
    Ours , I liked the sound of that. He carried me down a hallway and into the bedroom, gently placing me on the mattress before landing on top of me. Then he proceeded to show me how much better he could do, several times through the night.
    ***
    I rolled over, enjoying the feel of the cool sheets against my naked skin and reached out for Brecken. Finding his side of the bed empty, I sat up in surprise. Brecken hadn’t left me alone without waking me up for a morning quickie in the week since we’d arrived in Chicago. I wandered into the connecting master bath and noticed the mirror was still fogged as I washed my hands and brushed my teeth. I couldn’t be too far behind him. Maybe he’d planned to surprise me with breakfast in bed. Moving towards the door, I halted in my tracks with my hand on the knob when I heard voices coming from the living room.
    “So much for the idea of breakfast in bed,” I muttered to myself as I entered the walk-in closet and put on a pair of silk pajamas, throwing a robe over it before I headed down the hallway. Finding my parents seated on our couch across from Brecken was quite the shock. My small gasp of surprise alerted them to my presence, and all eyes turned to me. My husband rose from his seat and moved towards me swiftly, but my gaze remained locked on my parents. I hadn’t seen them in more than half a year. And we hadn’t spoken, not once during all that time.
    I didn’t understand what was happening. Brecken knew how much our estrangement pained me, but he also knew the reason for it. I thought he understood how I felt about what my dad did for a living. When we’d made the drive to Chicago last week, I’d been surprised by Brecken’s story about how he’d met my father. I couldn’t fathom a reason for the connection between my dad, the illegal arms dealer, and a well-respected General in the Army. He’d asked me a lot of questions about my parents, but I figured it was all part of the getting to know you process. Apparently I thought wrong and his questions were for another purpose.
    “Morning, precious.” He dropped a kiss on my lips as though this morning was the same as any other. Then he moved his head until his mouth rested above my ear. “I know you’re scared, but I need you to trust me here. I did some checking into your dad’s company over the last week. Some things didn’t add up so I dug further. What I found will surprise you, Hadley. In a good way, but your dad asked if he could be the one to explain it to you. That’s why they’re here.”
    My heart filled with hope as I gripped Brecken’s hand and turned to face my parents. My mom’s eyes were full of happy tears when we sat down across from them, Brecken settling me on his lap with his arms wrapped around me.
    “You look so happy,” she whispered.
    “I am,” I confirmed in a soft voice, sending her a quick smile before shifting my gaze to my dad. My voice hardened when I continued. “Now. But I was the furthest thing from happy when Brecken found me in the jungle after your associates took me from my dorm room and you left me there to rot for two weeks, wondering if you were just going to let me die because I hadn’t forgiven you yet.”
    “Hadley, no!” My dad jumped to his feet, pacing back and forth behind the couch where he’d been sitting, one hand running through his hair. “You’re my daughter, and I love you. I never wanted anything to happen to you, that’s why I pushed you away in the first place.”
    I jerked in Brecken’s arms. “What the heck do you mean, pushed me away?”
    He moved around the couch, and I froze in place until he dropped down beside my mom. “I arranged for you to discover my illegal arms dealings.” He made air quotes when he said the last three words. “Which aren’t so much as illegal as they are sanctioned by the US government.”
    “You