“Um, there’s a backing camera.”
No reply. He headed off. In the wrong direction.
Okay, maybe he didn’t like having something obvious pointed out to him. She got it. Luther had been the same.
Not that she was saying Luther and Razor were alike. Not at all. Luther would have left her lying on the ground while he threw a fit, likely blaming her for everything. And then she’d have had to drag herself inside, hoping he didn’t turn his little temper tantrum onto her.
Yeah. Those were definitely times she didn’t miss. Razor was the polar opposite. He was obviously upset about something and instead of ranting and raving about it, he’d gone silent. She didn’t like that. She wished he’d just tell her what the problem was.
“We’re going the wrong way.”
“No, we’re not.”
“But if you’re taking me home, my place is that way.” She pointed in the opposite direction.
“Told you, going to the emergency room.”
“Razor, I really don’t need to go.” She hated the ER. Well, she guessed for most people it wasn’t their favorite places. But she had bad memories attached to them.
She twisted her fingers together.
“I’m not arguing.”
“So you get to just make the decision and I get no input,” she said quietly.
He was silent for a long moment, then he drew her car off to the side of the road. “Fuck.” Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. He looked hurt. As though he was in physical pain. Was that her fault? Had she done this to him? This strong, resilient, kind man?
Then he turned to her, opening his eyes. “You’re right. Fuck. I’m sorry. I have no right to make decisions for you. No right to just dictate like some asshole. If you were . . .”
“If I was what?”
“Doesn’t matter. What matters is what you want to do. I really wish you’d let me take you to the emergency room. I’m worried about how much your ankle has swollen. I just want you to get checked out, to ease my mind.”
“You’re really worried about me?” she asked in amazement.
“Of course I’m worried. What sort of monster would I be—actually, don’t answer that. I know what kind monster wouldn’t have worried about you if you were hurt. Fucking asshole.”
“I really hate emergency rooms, they hold bad memories.”
He blanched.
“Not just for me. I didn’t often end up in one. He didn’t usually hurt me that badly.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and she watched him for a moment, worried.
“My dad was sick. He’d often be in pain, and my mom would call an ambulance. For most of my childhood, that’s all I can remember—having to be quiet so dad could sleep. Or not being able to leave the house because dad needed my mom at home. When he died, Uncle Fergus took mom and me in. I think we were broke. I can remember mom trying to sell stuff off. I guess I should be thankful he did that. Of course, then he forced me to marry an asshole just like him, so . . . yeah.”
He didn’t say a word, but his knuckles were white with how hard he was holding onto the steering wheel.
“Are you all right?” she whispered.
“Am I? Am I all right?”
“Yeah? Are you? You look stressed. If you have to go back to the garage, I understand.”
“I . . . shit . . . baby,” he said in such a tender voice that tears entered her eyes. “Baby, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me, okay?”
“But you worry about me.”
“Yeah, and to my way of thinking, not enough people have worried about you in your life.”
“I can’t remember the last time someone did. Jared, he worries in his own way, I guess. If I’d twisted my ankle, he’d get one of his men to take me to the doctor, I’m sure.”
“Do me a favor? Don’t mention your cousin to me. He should have protected you from that asshole, Luther.”
“Jared’s not a bad person.”
He shot her a look.
“Not like Uncle Fergus,” she amended. “He just has a different way of looking at things.”
“He should have protected you.”
“At the time, he thought he was. He thought Luther was the lesser of two evils. Luther was dumb, but he was also careful to make sure I never had a chance to tell Jared what was going on. He isolated me. And when he . . . when he hit me then he was usually careful to do it in places which could easily be hidden by clothing.”
“And your cousin didn’t think it weird that he was isolating you?”
“Jared thought that was better than me becoming a target of the deranged asshole trying to murder him.”
One beat of silence. Two.
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I am. See, Jared thought Luther was the lesser of two evils. And in a way, he was right.”
He reached over then paused. “Can I touch you?”
“Y-yes,” she said, unsure what he planned to do. He gently placed his hand on top of hers. Oh, that was nice. She could get used to this touching thing.
“Will you let me take you to the emergency room to get checked out?” he asked her. “Please?”
“All right,” she agreed.
“Thank you. It will make me feel a lot better.”
And she realized she’d do a lot to make him feel better.
8
Tabby looked down at her bandaged foot in frustration.
The doctor had insisted on wrapping it up to help it heal and bring the swelling down. And she’d been ordered to keep off it as much as possible for at least three days.
Just awesome.
Looked like she was going to be doing a lot of hopping over the next few days. Her hands and knees had smaller bandages. They were just grazed.
They were back in her car and Razor was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Thankfully, the ER wasn’t overly busy on a Tuesday morning, so it hadn’t taken long for them to see someone.
She’d told Razor that he didn’t have to stay, but he’d just given her that look.
The one that told her she was completely bonkers.
“My place is just up here.” She pointed down the street. “I have a car park underneath. Pull in here.”
Razor looked around. She wondered what he was thinking. Her house didn’t look like anything on the outside. Just another concrete building. That was part of Jared’s plan when he’d bought it.
She hit the button on the garage door remote. There was also a camera that read her license plate. If it was the wrong license plate, the door wouldn’t open despite the remote being hit.
Razor drove down into the garage. The door shut behind them. Razor let out a whistle as he took in the garage. “I was expecting something cramped and tiny. How many people live in this building?”
“Oh, just me.”
He parked close to the elevator door then turned to her. “Just you?”
“Yeah. Jared bought it for me. Part of his stipulations for me being able to live on my own is that I had to live in a secure building. That meant no close neighbors since they posed a risk. And a security system with cameras.”
“Well, at least he protects you this much.”
“He does.” She nodded. “He bought this car for me as well. It’s actually got bullet-proof glass. I think he’s gone a bit overboard, but he’s been paranoid ever since that psycho stalked him. He doesn’t want anyone knowing I’m his cousin. I use my dad’s last name.”
“I’m surprised he let you move out on your own.”
“He didn’t want to. I guilted him into letting me leave.”
“What does your mom think of all this?” he asked.
“She died.”
“Oh, Tabby-baby, I’m so sorry.”
Tabby-baby, that was sweet. “Thank you, it was a long time ago now.”
“Doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt,” he replied. “How old were you?”
“Thirteen.”
“
That’s such a hard age to lose your mom. Not that any age is easy.” He sounded like he was speaking from experience.
“What about your parents?”
“My dad died when I was young. My momma worked three jobs to keep food on the table. I was the oldest, so as soon as I could, I went out to work to bring in money to feed my younger sisters.”
“How many do you have?”
“Four.”
“Oh wow. Do any live close by?” she asked.
“No. They’re all back in Georgia. My momma still lives there too.”
He climbed from the car and she undid her seatbelt, cursing herself for asking too many personal questions. She knew what it was like not to want to talk about your family. She grabbed her handbag as he opened her door. Crouching, he picked her up.
“Razor! You have to stop doing that!”
“I’m fine.”
He shut the door to her car with his hip and it locked automatically as he carried her to the elevator.
“I need to put in my pin,” she told him, wriggling to get down. “And it has a retina scanner.”
“Good to know.” Setting her down, he kept hold of her waist to steady her as she stood on one foot. He looked around in interest. “Your cousin has someone monitoring the cameras constantly?”
“No, I have panic buttons everywhere and there’s a code I could have put in if you were coercing me or something. Then they’d check the cameras.”
Razor nodded. The elevator doors opened and he picked her back up. It came out on the main floor of the loft.
He whistled. “This place is enormous. Nice.”
She shrugged. “Yeah. It’s pretty good.” Not exactly her taste, but she wasn’t going to complain.
“Where’s your bedroom?”
“Upstairs,” she told him in surprise. Why would he want to know that?
“I’ll carry you up so you can pack a bag. Unless you trust me to do it.”
“Pack a bag?” she asked.
“So you can come stay with me.”
Her mouth opened. Closed. “Razor, I’m not coming to stay with you.”
“Yeah, you are. Now, are you packing your bag, or am I?”
Had she not just pointed out that he couldn’t make decisions like that for her a few hours ago?
“Razor, I’ll be fine here. It’s just a twisted ankle.”
“The doctor said you had to stay off it for a few days. How are you going to get up to your bedroom? Make yourself food? Get to the bathroom?”
“I can hop,” she pointed out. “And I’ll sleep down here on the couch.”
He gave her an appalled look. “You’re not sleeping on the damn couch.”
“It’s really comfy. You should try it. I don’t mean you should sleep on it. But sit on it. Can you put me down, please?” She didn’t know if she’d ever felt this flustered before.
He set her down on the sofa, then he dragged the coffee table over. He grabbed a cushion off the couch and placed it on the table. Her foot went on top of the cushion.
“Now, what’s this nonsense about you staying here?”
Lord, give her some patience.
“I’m not going home with you.”
“You are.”
“Razor, you’re being unreasonable.”
“You need help, you can’t be on your own.”
“I’ll be fine.” Why was he so insistent on her coming home with him?
Maybe the question should be why was she so insistent on stopping him? Here’s someone who actually cares about her.
Hang onto him and don’t let go.
She wished it was that simple.
“Tabby, you aren’t fine. You can’t walk. You hurt yourself while trying to protect my business. Which we’ll be having words about. But the least I can do is take care of you.”
Oh. Right.
That’s why he wanted her to come stay with him. Because he felt guilty.
Silly her.
Why would it have been anything else? She was nothing special.
His phone rang and he drew it out of his pocket, checking the screen before putting it back. He had to go. He had to have a hundred things to take care of.
“You shouldn’t feel guilty. I chose to chase after those guys. It’s my fault I got hurt. Not yours.”
He scowled. “Why did you get out of your car?”
She opened her mouth. Closed it. Then stared at him in surprise. “Why?”
“Yeah, why? Why put yourself at risk like that? Why not stay in your car and call the cops?”
“Because I don’t exactly trust the cops.” The way she’d been raised had taught her that they were the enemy, even though she knew, logically, that they weren’t. “And they were up to no good.”
He lowered his eyebrows, giving her a stern look that sent a shiver through her. “And you think that’s an acceptable reason to put yourself in danger?”
“What do you consider an acceptable reason?”
“Nothing. Nothing is an acceptable reason, young lady.”
Young lady? Was he serious right now?
“What you should have done was stay in your car and called me. You shouldn’t have gotten out. You shouldn’t have even stopped at the garage. You should have driven past, gone to a safe place which was well lit with people, then called me.”
“But they would have been long gone by then.”
“So? It is not your job to protect my business. It is your job to keep yourself safe. You didn’t do that today. Promise me you won’t do that again.”
“I was going to call you. It’s just, I thought I might be able to scare them. Then one of them crashed into me and I lost my phone. Then I heard something smash and I. . . yeah, you’re right. I should have called you straight away. I just . . . I didn’t . . .”
“You didn’t think about your own safety, did you?”
“It’s never really been a priority.”
“I want you to change that. Your safety should always be a priority, understand? Now, you can’t stay here alone. I’ll worry about you. Can we pack a bag and get you back to my place? I need to . . . shit.” He drew out his phone as it rang again. “I’ll just take this.”
He walked off towards the kitchen and she shuffled over to where Snappy and Scooby sat on one end of the sofa. He hadn’t even given them a second glance. But then, lots of adults had stuffed toys. Her uncle’s last wife, Angie had owned this big whale she’d called Wally.
After her uncle was killed, Angie had disappeared. Jared had been preoccupied, and she’d somehow slipped away.
At least, that’s what Jared told her.
God, she hoped she wasn’t dead. She’d liked the other woman, who’d only been a few years older than Tabby. She hadn’t deserved to be married to Uncle Fergus. The warthog.
That was probably mean to warthogs.
When Razor returned, he was frowning.
“Razor, you don’t need to be worrying about me on top of everything else. I’ll be fine here.”
“I really don’t like to argue, Tabby.”
She sighed. “How are you even going to take care of me? You’ll be at work all day.”
He ran his hand over his face. “Shit. Well, I’ll figure it out.”
“I guess I could go to work during the day. I could just sit at my desk. That would actually work. I mainly sit all day anyway.”
“You’re not going to work,” he told her firmly. “Not until you can weight bear on that foot.”
“But I’ll just be sitting at home anyway, and you’re going to be short-handed.”
“No,” he told her. “No work. I’ll shorten my work days. And get someone to check on you during the day.”
“You can’t shorten your days. You’re already behind schedule, and you’ve spent most of today dealing with me.” Now, she was really starting to regret what she’d done. She’d made his life so much harder.
Idiot.
“It will be fine. I’ll get someone to check on y
ou, help you to the bathroom and feed you lunch. Yeah, that will work.”
Feed her lunch? Seriously?
“And I’ll just do all the paperwork at home, which means I should be able to come home earlier.”
She shook her head.
“It’s either that or I move in here. With Luna. Which would you prefer?”
Move in here? Was he serious?
She could tell from the way he looked down at her that he was. So what were her choices?
With a sigh and a glare, she nodded. “Fine, I’ll move in with you. But only until Thursday.”
“We’ll see. You’re only leaving once you can walk on that foot.”
“Fine.” She’d be walking on her foot in two days, come hell or high water. “What about my fish though?”
He turned to her fish tank. “They’re cute.”
“Yeah, the clumsy, orange one who keeps bumping into stuff is Shaggy. Then that one is Fred. That one is Daphne and the smallest one is Velma. Honestly, I think Shaggy is actually a girl and Daphne is a boy, but I’m not sure. I forgot what they told me at the pet shop.”
“They’re cute. You like Scooby-Doo, huh?”
She tensed. Would he think that was weird? It was, right?
“Yeah.”
He just nodded and then turned to look at her. “How often do they need to be fed?”
“Once a day.”
“Can you give me access through the security system?”
“I don’t know how,” she told him. “And I don’t think it would be a good idea to call Jared and ask him.” And by not, she meant it would be a terrible, very bad idea.
“Oh, wait! I have an automatic feeder.” She didn’t know why she’d bought it. She’d just bought everything the shop assistant suggested. He’d probably totally fleeced her.
But it was coming in handy now.
They set up the fish feeder, then he carried her upstairs and left her to get packed. After about ten minutes, he knocked on the door before entering. “Got everything?”
She was hopping around and he frowned at her, coming over and steadying her. “Easy, you’re going to hurt your other foot. Why didn’t you call out for me?”
“I’m fine. I’m all packed now, and you were on the phone.”
“Dart called the cops. Said the damage is too much to be replaced without insurance.”
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