Chapter 10

Ronan looked at the stunned look on Bennett's face. "You didn't expect that?" Bennett swallowed, visibly uneasy. "I've seen how much attention you give Marissa. It seems like you worry about her more than Cassandra." Ronan went quiet for a few seconds. Then, he spoke slowly, his voice flat. "That's because I owe Marissa my life. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here." The wine shifted in his crystal glass, catching the sharp angle of his profile in the reflection. His eyes, usually cold and restrained, softened in a way Bennett rarely saw. The past surged up without warning. 20 years ago, traffickers had taken him. When he refused to cooperate with their scheme to extort the Sterlings, they beat him bloody and tossed him into a cage like an animal. For three days, they gave him nothing to eat or drink. He could feel himself dying, minute by minute. Just when he thought he would die there, a small, dirty hand slipped through the bars with half a dry bread roll. "Are you okay