Betrayal: Brianna's Secret (The Betrayal Series) by Sofia Velardi

lovemaking. That night was all about a kind, caring soul providing much needed sympathy and comfort to another.
     When they made it to the bedroom, Brianna crawled on top of her bed and laid on her side before curling in the fetal position. The conversation with Abby had left her emotionally drained. She was also physically exhausted from all the rehearsing she did that day. Her eyelids felt heavy, and every muscle in her body ached, but she didn't care because an overwhelming sense of peace was washing over her.
    Abby laid next to Brianna, watching over her like a mother would watch over a sick child. She curled her body behind Brianna’s while her hand gently stroke Brianna’s face. She was more fascinated with Brianna than ever. She also felt very protective of her.
    Abby was not a violent person and never wished ill on anyone, but she felt a strong desire to go track that bastard Miller down and bash his face against a wall. But Abby didn't fret over the fact that Miller was still out there, potentially destroying the lives of other innocent girls, because she believed in karma. She was confident that sooner or later that horrible man was going to pay for what he did to Brianna.
    It didn’t take Brianna long to fall fast asleep. That night she slept better than she had in ages. The heavy weight of the awful secret she had been carrying for seven years had finally been lifted off her shoulders. 
    When Brianna moved to L.A., she lived in fear that Miller would find her, lock her up and rape her again. She had constant nightmares about it. After a year living in the City of Angels, the fear of Miller tracking her down had subsided, but the nightmares did not.
    So many times she had woken up in the middle of the night crying and in a puddle of sweat, but that night at her apartment, with Abby guarding her dreams, she slept like a baby.
     

 
    Chapter VI
     
     
    The next morning, Abby woke up in an empty bed. From the bright lights filtering through the drapes covering the floor-to-ceiling windows, Abby could tell it was mid-morning. She felt rested, but concern quickly invaded her thoughts when she glanced around the room and did not see Brianna. Abby got off the bed and went to look for her.
    After not finding Brianna in the bathroom, Abby went searching for her. From inside the bedroom, Abby could tell Brianna was making breakfast because of the delicious smell of bacon that saturated the air. With her stomach growling, she opened the bedroom's door, and her eyes immediately flew to the open kitchen a few feet away.
    She gazed over the long, black chrome counter that separated the dining room from the kitchen and found Brianna hovering over the stove and holding an oven mitt. Without making her presence known, Abby stepped closer and curiously gazed at Brianna from the other side of the long kitchen counter. She grinned at how adorable and domestic Brianna looked wearing a checkered apron tied behind her neck and back.  
    Sensing the presence of someone standing behind her, Brianna turned around. “Hey, there. You’re up,” she beamed before dropping the oven mitt on top of the stove and walking around the counter to meet Abby who was standing next to the dining room table. “How’d you sleep?” she asked.
     “Good. Your bed is really comfortable,” Abby grinned, suddenly becoming self-aware of how unkempt she looked with her wrinkled clothes and her bed head while Brianna looked impeccable as always in a pair of khaki shorts and a tight white tank top.
    While she felt embarrassed by her appearance, Abby was also glad and relieved to see Brianna looking rested and energized. Brianna radiated inner peace. Her ocean blue eyes were no longer clouded with sadness. That morning they sparkled.
     Abby’s lips curled into the sweetest, most disarming of smiles at the sight of a happier Brianna. The tears that had soaked Brianna’s cheeks the night before were nowhere to be found. With the weight of her dark