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  “Here.” He extends a pair of black lounge pants and a faded red shirt in my direction. “They’ll be big on you but it’s better than what you have on.” I look up, realizing that Link isn’t as tall as I had originally thought. He’s maybe three inches or so taller than my five-foot-five-inch stature.

  “Thank you.” I force a smile even though my lips feel too heavy for the action.

  “I also tucked a pair of panties and bra inside the pant leg,” he whispers. “They’re clean.” He winks.

  I’m not sure how to react. I swear I feel like I’ve stepped out of real life and onto the set of some weird, comedic thriller. Part of me is ready to burst into tears while the other is teetering on buckling over in laughter. This situation could definitely call for either reaction.

  I nod, afraid if I open my mouth I’ll lose my composure, which would probably make me look even crazier than I likely already do.

  “Do you need anything else? Something to drink or eat?” Link asks, gesturing toward the kitchen.

  “Actually, a water would be nice,” I admit, having not actually had anything to drink in quite some time.

  “One water, coming up.” He bounces across the room, tugging open the refrigerator the moment he reaches it. He reappears seconds later with a bottle of water in his hand. “For the lovely lady.” He bows his head as he extends the bottle to me, a smile on his face.

  I bite back my smile, and Link’s fades from his face when Titus’ voice rumbles between us. “If you two are about done.” He gives Link an annoyed look before his gray eyes come to me. “My room is back here.” He gestures to the mouth of the hallway.

  I have to physically force my feet to move toward him.

  “Night, night, puppet,” Link calls from behind me in an accent that reminds me of a line from the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean.

  I follow Titus to the end of the hallway where he stops and opens the last door on the right. He steps to the side so that I can slide past him.

  “There’s a bathroom attached. Feel free to shower or do whatever you need. Towels are under the sink. If you need anything, you know where to find me.” With that, he pulls the door closed without another word.

  I almost expect for him to lock me inside so I purposely listen for the click of the mechanism. Thankfully it never comes. I’m not sure why that’s my first thought. I guess I’m still waiting for all hell to break loose. What the hell was I thinking coming here?

  I wander around the small room, setting my bottle of water on the nightstand. The room is pretty bare bones. There’s a king-sized bed with a wood frame that matches the walls. A worn-down dresser. And a tiny closet that has very little inside other than some clothes. If I hoped to learn anything about Titus by the contents of his bedroom, I clearly won’t.

  Making my way to the bathroom, I flip on the light. The room is almost as small as the closet. The sink and toilet are so close together I could probably pee and wash my hands at the same time, and get my toes wet in the stand-up shower tucked in the corner.

  Setting the clothes Link gave me on the sink, I flip on the shower and let the water heat up. It isn’t until I’ve stripped away my bathing suit and am standing under the steaming hot water that everything hits me.

  Austin. The feeling of his hands on me. The way his voice sounded. I shudder, scrubbing my body harder. I try not to think about how much worse things could have been. He could have succeeded. I could still be there, raped and beaten, or worse... Dead.

  But I got away.

  I still don’t know how. I remember the rustle of his shorts as he worked to remove them and keep me in place. In that moment, something in me snapped. I remember biting his shoulder. I remember tasting blood. I kneed and kicked as hard as I could, eventually connecting with the one place I was aiming for. But even as he crumbled in pain, I was still pinned beneath his weight. Yet somehow, I managed to get him off of me and run before he had the chance to fully recover. I still don’t understand how I had the strength to overpower him, even in his momentarily weakened state. I guess it must have been adrenaline. I’ve heard people say that when in crisis a person can show immense strength.

  Either way, I’m thankful that I got away unscathed, for the most part.

  I stay in the shower until the water runs cold before getting out. I dress in the clothes Link gave me, having to tighten the string a good deal on the lounge pants in order to keep them up. And while I don’t love the idea of wearing someone else’s undergarments, after careful inspection to ensure they actually are clean, I decide I’d rather wear someone else’s than not wear any at all. Especially considering I’m staying in a house with two men I do not know. I purposely try not to think about where they came from.

  Shutting off the lights on my way to the bed, I peel back the thick navy comforter and quickly slide in, pulling the blanket all the way up to my chin.

  My body is exhausted but my brain feels like it’s still running a million miles a minute. I roll to my side, pulling my knees to my stomach and curl into a ball.

  I suck in a deep breath through my nose, feeling like I might break out into a full-fledged panic attack at any moment. The magnitude of the situation I have found myself in is starting to take hold. I snuggle deeper into the blankets and squeeze my eyes shut, praying that when I open them again, this will have all been some bad dream.

  Chapter Two

  Fallon

  “She lives!” Link boasts from the kitchen as I stumble into the living area just after ten in the morning.

  It took me forever to fall asleep, but once I did, I slept like a rock.

  “Good morning,” I grumble, my voice still thick with sleep.

  “I’m making some biscuits and gravy. Are you hungry?” My eyes go to the cast iron skillet on the stove where he’s vigorously stirring.

  “Starving,” I admit, my stomach protesting its emptiness when the smell of food fills my nostrils.

  “I figured you would be.” He grins, tilting his head toward one of the bar stools. “Sit. It won’t be much longer. I didn’t know what you liked, but I thought biscuits and gravy was a pretty safe bet.”

  “Well you were right. It’s one of my favorites.” I can’t help but smile at him. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as someone who could cook.” I nod a thank you when he abandons the skillet to set a glass of orange juice in front of me.

  “My grandma raised me. She insisted I learn how to cook. Said it was the only way I’d ever keep a woman.” He chuckles, turning to remove the skillet from the burner before grabbing an oven mitt.

  “And did it work?” I ask, taking a long pull of orange juice. It tastes so good I nearly moan before I drink more.

  “Did what work?”

  “Keeping a woman.” I point toward the oven as he pulls out a tray of piping hot biscuits. My mouth instantly waters. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I ate.

  “Well, that would imply that I’ve found one.” He grins, setting the sheet pan on top of the stove next to the skillet. “But alas, I’m still waiting for the right tulip to sprout.”

  “The right tulip?” I snort out a laugh.

  I know I don’t know this guy, but I already can’t help but like him. How could I not? He’s charming and funny. Clearly caring. He had the forethought to find me some undergarments last night. Most men aren’t that thoughtful. And now here he is, making me breakfast, referring to women as flowers. It doesn’t take much to realize that he and Titus are polar opposites.

  The thought of Titus causes the little hairs on the back of my neck to stand and I instantly turn and scour the room, not able to believe that I didn’t think to do so before now.

  “He’s not here.” Link seems to read my sudden shift in demeanor. “Had a few errands to run in town this morning,” he says, retrieving two plates from the cabinet before setting them on the counter. “I know he seemed like a real hard ass last night, but he had some shit going on that has nothing to do with you. He’s actually a pre
tty good dude. And when push comes to shove, I promise he’s someone you want in your corner. Don’t let him scare you.”

  “I’m not scared of him.” Link gives me a look that says he’s not convinced. “What town did he go to exactly? I didn’t see much of anything on our way here.”

  “Probably because you rode in from the opposite direction. Leary is only six or seven miles from here. It’s a pretty rinky-dink town but it has the essentials.”

  “Which are?” I inquire, watching him drop two biscuits on each plate before smothering them in gravy.

  “You know, grocery, pharmacy, hardware store. The usual stuff.” He slides a plate in front of me before he grabs forks from the drawer.

  “I see.” I nod. “So the town’s name is Leary?” I take the fork he extends to me.

  “Yep. Leary, South Carolina.”

  “South Carolina?” I gape.

  “Where did you think you were?” He chuckles, standing across the counter from me as he slides a heaping bite of biscuits and gravy onto his fork and shovels it into his mouth.

  “North Carolina.”

  “You’re not far. We’re only about ten miles from the state line.” He pauses. “Where are you from, anyway?”

  “Raleigh.” I drag my biscuit covered fork through gravy.

  “You’re pretty far from home. What were you doing out at Rocks Peak?”

  “Just trying to get away for a while.” I shrug, taking my first bite of biscuits and gravy. This time I do moan. I can’t help it. It’s that good. Either that or I’m just so hungry that anything would be moan worthy at this point.

  “Good?” He seems pleased by my reaction.

  “So good.” I immediately go in for another bite.

  “So,” he waits until I’ve chewed and swallowed before continuing, “you wanna clue me in on how a little time away at Rocks Peak ended up with you on the back of my buddy’s motorcycle?” He cocks a brow, a smile playing on his lips. “You don’t strike me as the kind of girl that would hop on some random dude’s bike.”

  “I’m not,” I admit. “Well, not typically.”

  “So then what happened? Given the state of you last night, I’d say that you left in a hurry.”

  “Let’s just say that things took a turn and I needed a quick escape.”

  “You don’t want to talk about it. I respect that. But if someone fucked with you and you need someone to fuck back, I’m your guy.” He hitches his thumb at himself.

  “I appreciate that, but honestly, you don’t even know me.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” He shovels another bite into his mouth. “Titus brought you here which makes you one of us. We look out for our own.”

  My chest tightens at his words. I’ve known him for less than a day, yet he’s already offering to go to bat for me. My own father has never done that in my eighteen years on this earth. It saddens me to think why that is. Why a perfect stranger would stand up for me, be there for me without having to ask, when my own father doesn’t do the same.

  “So what, I’m one of you now?” I joke, poking my fork in his direction.

  “Damn straight. Didn’t you get the memo? We’re the island of misfit toys. Well, not really an island.” He looks around the room. “But you get the point.”

  “Is that why you made the comment about strays last night?” His offhanded comment coming back to me.

  “You listen, I’ll give you that. But no, that’s not what I meant by strays.” He gives me a look that tells me maybe I don’t want to know what he meant.

  “Oh.” I stab my fork into a biscuit.

  “Listen, I don’t know what happened, and clearly you don’t want to talk about it, and that’s fine. Just know that if you need to lay low for a while, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need.”

  “Really?” I question, having not really considered staying here past the one night. Hell, I didn’t intend to stay here last night either, but I wasn’t really given much of a choice.

  Then again, it’s really pretty perfect. My father will never be able to find me here. That’s always been my concern with leaving. I knew that no matter where I go, my father would find me. Given his unlimited access to resources, I’d probably be gone a day before he’d track me down. And no matter how adamant I’d be about not coming home, he’d find a way to drag me back.

  But here? Not even my father would think to look for me all the way out here. Not that I plan to stay here permanently, but a few days would buy me time to figure out my next move.

  Am I really considering staying with two complete strangers?

  It’s not that my father is a bad man, he isn’t. But he’s not necessarily a good one, either. He’s driven and determined and never lets anything stand in the way of him reaching a goal. Unfortunately, that doesn’t usually bode well for me. Somewhere along the way I became more of a chess piece in his game to power than his daughter.

  He has every aspect of my future planned. Where I’ll go to college. What I’ll major in. Where I’ll live. Hell, he is probably already lining up potential future husbands for me as we speak. He’ll want to make sure I marry someone that has a promising future. All to further his plans to one day make a run for the presidency. He thinks if he projects the perfect image there’s no way he will lose. Too bad he’s using me as a sacrificial lamb to do so. It's not my life to make choices about. Honestly, I’m not sure if it ever was. Deep down I know that if I go back now, I’ll never get out.

  “Really.” Link cuts into my thoughts.

  It takes me a minute to pull my mind back to the present.

  “And how does Titus feel about this?” I ask, his name feeling foreign on my lips.

  “He brought you here, didn’t he? Besides, if he wanted you gone, he would have been hauling your ass out the door first thing this morning. That’s typically how it works. He brings home a stray, feeds it, and then drives it to some remote location. There, he leaves it on the side of the road so he never has to see it again. You, my dear, are not the typical stray.”

  “How’s that exactly?” I ask, not sure I’m really following what he’s trying to say.

  “Because he let you sleep in his bed, and he wasn’t in it.”

  “I guess you have a point?” I phrase it more as a question than a statement, because really, what was his point? That I’m not some random girl he brought home, screwed, and then left on the side of the road?

  I’m sure I’m missing the full analogy, but I think I somewhat understand what he’s getting at.

  “Don’t worry about Titus. I promise you; his bark is much worse than his bite. If you’re here, it’s because he wants you here.”

  “I’m guessing you two are pretty close.” I’m hoping to keep him talking. Truth is, I’m more than a little curious about the mysterious man who rescued me last night.

  “He’s my brother. Not by blood, but in all the ways that count. He got me out of a really bad situation when I was younger and I’ve been with him ever since.”

  “How old are you?” It’s probably not my business, but I’m curious to know.

  “Twenty-six.”

  “I would have guessed you younger than that. And how old is Titus?”

  “Twenty-eight.”

  “Twenty-eight,” I repeat under my breath.

  “How old are you?”

  “Eighteen.”

  “Well damn. I would have guessed you older than that. Don’t get me wrong, I knew you were young, but damn. Let me guess, you’re ripe out of high school?”

  “I graduated two weeks ago.”

  “Jesus. You really are a baby.”

  “I’m not a baby. I’m only eight years younger than you. That’s not that much.”

  “When it comes to life experience it kind of is.”

  “I’ve had plenty of life experience.”

  “No offense, puppet, but I really doubt that.”

  “Why do you call me that? What does that even mean?” I ask, not missing that this
is the third time that he’s referred to me as “puppet”.

  Before he has a chance to answer, the door creaks open behind me. The air in the room instantly changes, and even though all I want to do is turn around and look at him, I don’t move a muscle.

  A part of me is terrified that the intimidating, beautiful man that saved me will have somehow changed in the light of day. Or maybe I’m terrified that he’s exactly the same. I’m not sure which would be worse.

  My skin tingles as his boots move against the wood floor and I swear I stop breathing when I feel him come up alongside of me.

  “Got you some stuff.” He drops a white plastic bag onto the bar next to me.

  My gaze swings upward, my stomach twisting when my eyes meet his stormy gray ones. My attention momentarily dips to the tattoo on his neck. It looks more like a compilation of smaller tattoos rather than one large one.

  “I didn’t know what size you needed, so I had to guess. I figure anything is better than that.” He gestures to the red shirt swallowing my torso.

  “You bought me clothes?” My eyes dart back up to his.

  “And shoes.” He gestures to my bare feet. “It’s not much. Just something to get you by.” He shrugs indifferently before sliding into the stool next to me.

  “Thank you,” I murmur, not bothering to look inside the bag. I’m sure whatever it is will be fine. Honestly, I’m shocked that he would think to go out and pick me up something to wear.

  “It’s nothing. I had to run to town anyway.” He nods at Link who slides a plate of food in front of him.

  He seems different today. Nicer, even. But that doesn’t really make him any less intimidating.

  “No really.” I clear my throat, angling my body toward him. “Thank you. Thank you for the clothes. Thank you for letting me stay here. Thank you for the ride. Just thank you.”

  He momentarily meets my gaze before turning back to his food.

  “Don’t mention it.” He tears off a corner of a biscuit with his fingers and tosses it into his mouth. “Once you’re finished with breakfast, you can get changed and I’ll give you a ride to wherever you want to go.”