Page 3 of Renard's Deliverance

“I don’t want to be an asshole, Opal. But you’re part of the family now and that comes with certain cautions. Like, taking care of yourself. Like, I don’t really want you to live alone, Ryleigh certainly doesn’t want you to leave?—”

“But I?—”

“However, I get it.”

“I just need to be on my . . . wait, you do?”

“Yeah. This place is chaos on a good day. Not everyone wants that.”

That part didn’t worry her.

In fact, she kind of liked the crazy.

“And sometimes you have to be on your own to work out what you really want,” he added.

Maybe he did kind of get it.

Part of her wanted to cave and tell him that she wanted to stay.

However, Opal wasn’t really a Malone. She didn’t quite fit in here.

And, worst of all, she didn’t deserve to be.

That was also a reason to leave. She couldn’t start to wish and hope.

No, she had to leave before she started to buy into the bullshit he was spouting.

“So you’relettingme leave,” she said.

“Not letting you do anything,” Alec said calmly.

Darn it.

Why wouldn’t the man rile up a bit? Anger, she was used to. Anger, she could use as a reason to not like him.

As it was, she found herself liking him a bit more every day.

“I want to help you. We all do.”

“What do you mean by help me?” she asked suspiciously.

Opal wasn’t used to good things happening to her.

“Have you found a place to live?”

“Well, no. There doesn’t seem to be much around. So I was thinking that maybe I could move into Sugar?—”

“Yeah, nope.” His face was firm. “You’re not living in that bus.”

Why not? She’d lived in it before.

Now she was starting to find it easier to dislike him. “You can’t tell me no.”

“Hmm, it’s me or Jake. And we’re both going to say no because it’s not safe to live in a damn RV. And, like I said, there will be a revolt if I let Jake be your guardian.”

“You know, I really don’t need a guardian. I’m close to turning thirty. And I’m not stupid. I can make my own decisions.”

It had been Stefan’s favorite insult to call her stupid.

---