Hope Read Free Page A

wouldn’t let go of the bag. Penny hit out at him.
He caught her hand and slammed her against the wall. There was a flash of pain
across her face, which quickly left as he stood in her space.
    “What are you doing?” she asked.
    Damon placed his hand across her neck. He saw the panic in
her eyes and ignored it. She clearly didn’t see the danger she posed to herself
by being alone.
    “I could snap your neck right now.”
    “Why don’t you?”
    He stared into her eyes and was struck by his depth of
emotion for her. She was no one to him, and yet he didn’t want to hurt her.
    “Do you have any idea what would have happened to you if I
hadn’t come to you tonight?” he asked.
    She licked her lips. Her gaze remained on him. “It is not
hard to guess.”
    “They would have taken it in turns. Five men against you,
you wouldn’t have stood a chance. They would have used you until you were
nothing but a shell for their fucking needs, Penny. Do I need to spell it out further?”
he asked, even though he couldn’t spell.
    The colour left her cheeks. Her hand covered his across her
neck.
    “I said thank you.”
    Damon chuckled. “You’re really too innocent to be here.”
    “What do you mean?”
    He dropped the bag to the floor and stroked her cheek. Her
skin was soft.
    “Those men will come back to see if you’re alone. They were
not done with you. I bet they’re downstairs wondering when I’ll be gone so they
can finish the job.”
    Her gaze moved past his shoulder, checking.
    “You’ve got two choices, Penny. Stay here, or come with me.”
    “That’s not much of a choice.”
    “We can talk about it more upstairs.”
    She was working it out. Her gaze kept slipping behind him at
the door. His senses were on high alert even as his knuckles throbbed in
protest at another confrontation.
    Penny nodded her head. Tears filled her eyes.
    He ignored her tears as he gathered her clothing.
    It wasn’t his fault that she had no choice. He didn’t ask to
be responsible for her.
     
     

Chapter Two
     
    Penny stared at the man who’d entered her apartment. She was
thankful for his rescue. If it hadn’t been for him, she’d have been in a lot of
trouble. The moment she answered the knock at her door, she’d known she would
be in trouble. How many times had she been told never to answer a knock? Men
answered the door, not women.
    Life really had changed from the books her mother used to
read to her. Most of the world had prided themselves on being civilised human
beings, and with the introduction of one small tablet the world had changed.  
    She couldn’t believe a week being away from home and she’d
nearly been raped.
    “Are you coming?” the man asked.
    Taking one last look at her attempt at freedom, Penny
followed him out of her door. He walked up the next flight of stairs and
unlocked the door at the end of the corridor. Once they entered, he closed the
door and then slid the six locks into place. She’d only had the one lock on her
door.
    “Even if I hadn’t opened the door tonight, they would have
gotten in, wouldn’t they?”
    “You’re not in dream land, honey. This is the real world,
and a woman alone is like candy to a kid.” He removed his other jacket and then
took the one he’d given her. His clothing was as used as hers. They all survived
on what had been salvaged through many years of wars. Some of the old factories
still had the equipment to make clothes but none of the resources to use. The
man dropped her bag on the floor. She picked it up and moved behind him into
the main area of his apartment. There were a couple of chairs around a table, a
small kitchen, and then a sofa facing the windows. She was shocked by the fact
they weren’t smashed.
    Television and radio were no longer available. She’d read
about them in some of the books her mother had kept over the years. For all
they knew, they were the only ones in the world.
    “What’s your name?” she asked. She didn’t know how