Page 175 of Renard's Deliverance

“I love him,” Opal confirmed. “How can I not love a man like that? Who fusses over me when he thinks I’m not being safe or eating enough or that I’m cold? Who would patiently learn how to contour just to make me feel better? Who seems to realize what I need before I do and just gives it to me?”

“Wow,” Ryleigh said. “I hope I find that one day.”

She shared a look with Lilac. If Linc had his way, that day was going to be soon.

“We were so worried about you,” Lilac said.

Opal could see the shadows in her face. Stefan’s impact on them both had a long tail and no doubt this had raised a lot of issues for Lilac too.

Opal reached out and took her friend’s hand, squeezing it.

“I didn’t know what to do when we discovered that you were missing,” Ryleigh said. “I lost it, I was so worried. All of my brothers were ready to help look for you. The whole town was.”

That still shocked her. She hadn’t even lived here that long.

“I can’t believe it was Barney.” Lilac shook his head.

“Fucking Barney,” Ryleigh snarled, curling her hands into fists. “I’d like to punch him where it hurts. I actually asked Linc to leave me alone with him for ten minutes. But the jerk said no.”

Opal was very glad that Linc hadn’t let her. She didn’t want her friends anywhere near that bastard. Although she seemed to be the single object of his obsession.

Lucky her.

Although that seemed to be the way her life went.

She really did have the worst luck.

Well, she had. Hopefully, it was turning around.

“Such a fucking bastard,” Lilac said fiercely.

“He told me that he broke into my house to watch me while I slept. Can you believe that? That I could sleep through him staring at me? And then he put in a camera. God knows what he saw.”

She didn’t want to think about it.

Sick bastard.

“I’m just so glad that you’re all right,” Ryleigh said. “Well, not all right, I mean that you’re here and you’re alive.”

“I know what you mean,” Opal told her gently.

“You’re okay here with Renard?” Lilac asked. “You don’t want to leave?”

“Because we will get you out,” Ryleigh told her. “We’d do anything for you, Opal.”

“I know because I’d do anything for the two of you. But I’m good here. I promise. This is exactly where I’m meant to be.”

37

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Renard snarled.

Well, crap.

How the hell did he do that? He seemed to have some sixth sense for when she was about to do something that he didn’t agree with.

He was still in bossy mother hen mode five days after she’d gotten out of the hospital.

Honest to God, she couldn’t even sneeze without him declaring that she had a cold and trying to wrap her in blankets while shoving cold medicine into her mouth.

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