Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
L ark hadn’t uttered a sound throughout his entire story. It was the most words he’d said to her since they met, and she wanted to process every single one of them.
She was glad they’d gone back to the car to have this conversation. Everyone in the diner would’ve thought he was breaking up with her when they saw the tears that kept pooling in her eyes as he spilled his guts.
She’d always wondered what had happened to the sweet, grumpy, terrible card player she’d met that day at the trailer park. He’d been so beautiful, despite the scowl he always wore and the nasty black eye he’d sported.
She’d noticed him lurking in the shadows the day her family moved into that place. But when he never made a move to talk to her, she’d taken matters into her own hands.
In the back of her mind, she always thought they would’ve been great friends if they’d gotten the chance.
“You look so different. I never would’ve recognized you,” she admitted.
“I hit a growth spurt about a year later.”
She cleared her throat when he didn’t offer any additional info. “What happened to you that day?”
Lark very clearly remembered what happened on her end. When Ren disappeared, she’d gone in, woken her mom up from her nap, and they’d called the cops. It took them a while, but they eventually arrived. They would’ve let Dave go since they only had Lark’s version of events to go off of, and he hadn’t technically done anything illegal. But since he had several outstanding warrants against him, they’d hauled him away. She’d never seen him or his trashy wife again.
“I hitchhiked into town. Called CPS. They placed me with a new family two towns over.” His expression was rueful as he added, “They were a little better than Dave and Yvette.”
But not much, his tone implied. Her heart broke for the little boy he’d never had a chance to be. “Did you at least make other friends?”
“I met Tenley not long after I met you. She’s the one who taught me that I wasn’t as powerless as I always thought I was. That I was capable of protecting what was mine and everyone I cared about.”
Lark felt her brow furrow of its own volition. “How did she do that?”
“She reminded me that being smart could get you out of just about any trouble you ever ran into.” He chuckled. “Having somewhat loose morals helps, too.”
“So…you’ve been doing that ever since? Protecting people? Is that how you knew I was in trouble?”
He broke eye contact for the first time since they’d started their conversation. “Yes.”
“Why me?”
He looked surprised that she’d have to ask. “You saved my life that day. If you hadn’t stepped in when you did, I might’ve stayed in that place long enough for Dave to finally kill me. He would’ve. Of that, I’m sure.”
She shuddered at the thought. “Why didn’t you say something to me? Try to reconnect?”
“I didn’t want you to be… tainted by anything I’ve done.”
She swallowed hard. “What exactly have you done? For me, I mean.”
A muscle in his jaw flexed, but his eyes remained downcast. “I’ve watched. Made sure you were safe.”
That probably should’ve made her more uneasy than it did. Except… “When you’re watching, do you see me when I’m, um…”
His eyes flew back to hers. “No. Until the contract was taken out, I never had cameras in your home. I checked street cams and my own outside cams to make sure you were safe and no one was bothering you. That’s it. I know what I do is an invasion of privacy, but it’s not that much of an invasion. I swear.”
OK. She believed him. But it also seemed like he still wasn’t giving her the whole story. “And what else have you done to protect me?”
He glanced back out the window. “You know that job offer your dad got the week after I left town?”
She sat up straighter. “Yeah. Why?”
“I might’ve…hacked that firm’s employment system and got his resume pushed to the top of the interview list.”
“That job turned everything around for us,” she said. “Got us to a better house, better neighborhood, better school district.”
He nodded. “And…”
Jesus, there was more? “What else did you do?”
He bit his lip. “The lottery win.”
Her jaw dropped. “You rigged the lottery so that I’d win?”
“No one got hurt,” he said defensively. “It wasn’t hard. And you needed the money to buy your house and figure out what kind of job you wanted after college.”
She choked out a laugh. “Did you have something to do with the great deal I got on the house, too?”
She’d been joking, of course. So, imagine her surprise when he said defensively, “Just a little. But that was their fault more than mine. They wanted a ridiculous amount, considering the work you needed to put in.”
After another moment of stunned silence, she asked, “Why? Even if something I did was a catalyst to get you out of that trailer park, you long ago repaid that debt. You barely knew me. Why would you do so much for a stranger?”
He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a tiny friendship bracelet. Her friendship bracelet. “You weren’t a stranger. You were my friend. The first one I’d ever had. You stood up for me and didn’t abandon me when I needed you. So, I’m never going to abandon you when you need me—no matter what.”
Ren extended the bracelet to her. “But I’d understand if after learning all this, you didn’t want to be my friend anymore. And if that’s the case, when all this is over and I know you’re safe, I’ll leave you alone.”
He offered that, all while sounding like it’d kill him to let her go. This was a make it or break it moment for them. Logic told her to take the bracelet back. This man had stalked her for years, after all.
Her heart, however, was telling her something else entirely.
And what her body was telling her was something that she did not intend to explore. Not yet, anyway.
Ren had never had an opportunity to learn what being in a family or having friends was actually like. Stalking was the only way he knew to communicate how much he cared. Sure, it was…unconventional. But could she really afford to condemn him when he’d given her so much over the years without asking for a single thing in return—not even recognition or a thank you?
She glanced from the bracelet to his beautiful face, then back again. “You keep it,” she whispered.
He let out a deep breath, as if he’d been holding it until she replied. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
That’s when he did something that made her realize just how powerless she was with this man. Something she’d tried her hardest to get him to do the day they met, but had failed miserably. Something diabolical.
He smiled at her.
It was the most beautiful, open smile she’d ever had aimed at her, and it made her weak in the knees (and the heart).
Was it possible that her stalker/fake boyfriend/protector/old childhood friend was a bigger danger to her peace of mind than the assassin who’d accepted a contract on her life?
Guess she was about to find out…