Chapter 5 #3
“You’d give up your apartment for us?” Penny asked, shocked down to her very core at the offer.
“I have a feeling I’d give up a whole lot more,” Pyro told her with a completely straight face.
“I can pay you back,” Penny said. “Once I find a job.”
“Not happening. I don’t need or want your money, Pen, I just need you and your daughter to be safe.”
She wanted to accept, but the offer seemed too good to be true. And in her experience, when something seemed to be this perfect, there were usually strings attached. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course. I’ll talk to Casper, Laryn, Obi-Wan, and Zita about what I proposed, so they can think about it as well. It’ll be about a week before we get to Norfolk, so we have some time to come up with other options. But know this, Penny—my offer comes with no ulterior motives.”
It was as if he could read her mind. But then again, he came from a background much like hers. It wasn’t a surprise that they thought along the same lines.
“I just want to ask one thing.”
Right, here it was. The strings. Penny waited for the other shoe to drop.
“I’d like to spend time with you and Bowie. I like you guys. A lot. I admire you. Bowie is fun, and she’s a great reminder of why I do what I do.”
Penny waited for more. But Pyro stopped speaking and met her gaze head on.
“That’s it?” she asked, frowning.
“Yes.”
“You confuse me,” she admitted. “You’re nothing like any men I’ve known in the past. Everyone wants something. Nothing’s free in life.”
“You’re right, on both counts. You’re also right that I’m nothing like the assholes in your past, Pen.
I’m going to prove to you that there are still good men in the world.
I’m going to find this Colvin bastard and make it clear that you and Bowie are off limits.
I’m going to help you get back on your feet, so you can give Bowie the life you’ve dreamed of for her.
But, for the record, I think you’ve done a hell of a good job with almost nothing.
As you told me earlier, you’re safe, warm, you have food in your bellies, and you have each other.
Those are the most important things in the world. ”
He wasn’t wrong. “I’d like that. To spend more time with you. As long as you let me know when you need a break. Bowie can be…a lot.”
“I won’t need a break, but you’ve got a deal,” Pyro said with a smile. It transformed his face. Making him seem younger than he was. Lighter somehow.
Penny couldn’t help but feel hopeful about her future for the first time since they’d gotten word to get to Libreville to be evacuated.
Pyro had offered her some solid solutions to her living situation once they arrived in Norfolk.
She’d be stupid to turn him down and let Bowie, and herself, suffer needlessly.
She just wanted a little more time to be sure that she wasn’t making a huge mistake.
Even though deep down, she didn’t think she needed that time.
She wanted to accept right now. But she’d been cautious for so long, and it wasn’t just herself she had to worry about.
If Pyro could truly help with the Colvin situation and get the man and his goons off her back, her life would be so much easier.
There would be so much less stress. She’d never known when they’d show up, and God forbid she didn’t have the money Colvin demanded.
Not having that hanging over her head would be a huge relief.
And honestly, the thought of being a nanny to Casper and Laryn’s baby sounded like heaven. She loved babies, and if she could help the man who’d literally saved her and Bowie from that roof—and from being shot with a freaking missile—it would be an awesome way to pay him back.
“You look…happy.”
“I feel as if I’ve had a four-hundred-pound weight taken off my shoulders.”
“Good. Our time in the room is almost up. How about we go to the commissary and get you and Bowie some shoes.”
“We’re okay with what we have,” she felt obligated to say.
“I know you are. But I want to do this for you. Please.”
How could she say no to that?
She couldn’t. “Okay,” she said shyly.
To her surprise, Pyro brought the hand he’d been holding throughout their conversation up to his lips and kissed the back of it. “Thank you.”
Penny knew she was blushing, but she couldn’t help it. This man…he was…
He was literally everything she’d dreamed about in a partner, when she let down her guard long enough to think about things like that. Which had been ages, since she’d been so busy trying to make it through each day, one at a time.
Being evacuated from Libreville via helicopter had been terrifying, but in a weird way, it was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She and Bowie had met Pyro, and for the first time in years, she looked forward to the future.
To her surprise, Pyro didn’t drop her hand as he walked them through the library toward the exit. It was crazy how right her hand felt in his.
Penny couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she walked next to Pyro through the corridors of the large ship. Today felt like a new beginning…all because of the man at her side.