Chapter 2

I clutched the letter confirming the company wouldn't press charges and ran the entire way, charging straight into the Ashbourne detention center.

After completing all the paperwork, I made my way to the visitation room at the very back of the facility and finally saw my poor, unlucky husband, Nico.

Nico was wearing a jail uniform. Before he'd been arrested as someone else's scapegoat, he'd been set up and attacked, leaving bruises all over his body and a split at the corner of his mouth.

His normally tall, broad frame looked battered and disheveled as he sat in the metal chair.

At the sound of the door opening, he struggled to raise his head. Messy hair hung over his eyes, but the moment he saw me clearly, his cracked lips moved.

"Honey... what are you doing here?"

My eyes stung. I hurried over, cupped his face in both hands, and turned it from side to side to inspect him.

Thank God. His face wasn't ruined. His features were still as handsome and rugged as ever.

"Enough talking. I'm taking you home."

Supporting him as I went, I half pulled, half dragged him out of the detention center. Then I found a budget hotel and got him settled in.

"Honey, what are we doing here? Why aren't we going home?" Nico sucked in a breath from the pain, but that didn't stop him from asking questions.

"Shut up. Take off your clothes." I switched on the hotel's dim overhead light and expertly pulled out the antiseptic, pain-relief cream, and gauze I'd just bought at the drugstore.

Nico's face reddened, and he shifted awkwardly. "Uh... I mean, I just got out, and we're already getting a hotel room. Isn't that a little..."

I smacked his uninjured shoulder.

"What are you thinking? I'm treating your injuries! If we don't take care of this now, you could lose the use of that arm!"

I quickly unbuttoned his shirt and cleaned and treated his injuries.

Nico's entire body trembled from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.

The next morning, however, just as we were about to walk out of the hotel, a row of bodyguards in black suits blocked our way. They completely sealed off the entrance.

Caleb emerged from behind them with a folder in his hand and a broad smile on his face. "Ms. Dawson, where are you headed?"

His smile didn't reach his eyes as his gaze swept over Nico beside me.

My heart skipped a beat, but I didn't let it show. I kept a steady arm around Nico. "Mr. Whitaker signed the letter, and I've already gotten my brother out. The roads are bad because of the hurricane. We're getting ready to go back to our hometown in the country so he can recover."

"Oh, what unfortunate timing." Caleb sighed, though the smile on his face didn't fade in the slightest.

"Mr. Whitaker just gave us his instructions. He said there's no way he could ever fully repay you for saving his life, and since he still hasn't recovered, he simply can't do without your attentive care.

"He's hired you as the private housekeeper at his hillside estate. You are not permitted to leave without Mr. Whitaker's permission."