Bullet to the Heart by Lea Griffith

took another breath and walked within feet of him. He met her gaze, and what he saw there rocked his foundations.
    “You mentioned hope. You said ‘Lily gave me hope.’ But I have no idea what that emotion is. It’s hard to understand your motivation without having a more accurate vision of what your wife and daughter meant to you. What did they mean to you, Mr. Beckett?”
    He reached for her, grasped her upper arms near the shoulder, and shook her. She didn’t wince, didn’t bat an eyelash at his aggression. He got in her face and snarled. “ Everything , goddamn it. They were my everything.”
    He released her and she stumbled back, gaze never lowering, eyes never blinking. She licked her bottom lip and stroked over the place that had been raw just days ago. Her fists tightened, and she held them to her stomach.
    She lifted her chin after a few moments, as if daring him to challenge what she was about to say or do.
    “Are you a good man, Rand Beckett?”
    Her question floored him. He backed away from her as confusion rifled like a shot through his body.
    She advanced a single step, determination silhouetted in every line of her body. “Are you a good man?”
    Was he? Had he ever been?
    “When I was with them, I was good,” he said in a low tone, and the rightness of those words echoed in the room around them. “Now, I am not.”
    She stood silent for long moments and then nodded.
    “Then I will give you what you need so you can find your peace,” she whispered. “For Lily and Anna, I will give you The Collective.”

Chapter Ten
    She’d been here two weeks. It had been three days since the water pit and two days since her decision to lead Rand Beckett to The Collective. Her decision hadn’t been made easily. But it had begun when she’d seen him strip naked and lower himself into the same water pit he’d put her in.
    The action had made her heart hurt. She’d understood his reason for placing her there. Most men sought to break before they pushed in for the kill. She’d shown him she would not break. But then he’d pulled her out and warmed her against his own body.
    A shiver peaked her nipples, and the feel of the hard tips against the soft cotton of her shirt was so foreign she lifted her hands and rubbed them. Lightning zipped to her core and she gasped, lowering her hands. The feel of his hands on her skin had brought much more satisfaction.
    Sorrow arrowed through her. She would never know his touch in the ways she’d begun to yearn for it.
    “You asked to be allowed access to the gym. Are you ready?” Dmitry asked from the door.
    She nodded. Had he seen her touching herself? She shook off the possibility. The man who’d cared for her during her stay here was a conundrum. There was no doubt in Remi’s mind the man was a killer, similar in small ways to even her, but something about him was so tragic. He reminded her of someone . . .
    Then it hit her. He reminded her of Bone. She pushed those thoughts away. Remi needed a workout.
    She stood and followed him out into the house proper. A long, wide hallway led down a beautiful staircase to an enormous foyer. Off the foyer branched huge rooms, unfurnished but sparkling clean, the hardwood floors immaculate, the windows clear. They turned left at the bottom of the staircase and walked down another hallway, passing a large kitchen and finally coming to a room with a keypad.
    Dmitry punched in the numbers, then ushered her into a fitness lover’s wet dream. Every imaginable tool was available for workouts: stair climbers, treadmills, free weights, and the list went on and on.
    “Is there a pool?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
    He snickered and pointed. She followed his direction and discovered a two-lane lap pool. Her stomach knotted, but she began to strip out of her clothes.
    “Whoa, there!” Dmitry said and turned away.
    She’d known he followed her, but nudity was nothing to her. Her body was a tool only, nothing to be ashamed or