Page 12 of The Vigilant

Tynan’s jaw pulsed. I didn’t need to explain to him what being the daughter of a service member meant. Lots of moves. Lots of new schools. Lots of new people. At some point, you just get tired of starting over.

“We were inseparable from that first day of middle school.” I let out a long breath. “We’d readThe Girl with the Dragon Tattooearlier that year,and we were obsessed with the main character, Lisbeth Salander. She had a wasp tattoo on her neck. After Dad died, Mara suggested getting matching wasp tattoos. I guess they’re a sign that everything happens for a reason.”

And a symbol of taking control over your life.

He grabbed a towel and began to dry the plates.“Didn’t Lisbeth have the wasp tattoo removed?”

I stilled. “You read it?” I couldn’t hide my surprise…along with the other, more insidious emotion that knotted like a warm coil in my stomach.

“Listened to it, actually. I like audiobooks while I’m working on a bike,” he said, drying the plates. “But it was a couple of years ago, so I might not remember…”

“No, you’re right.” I licked my bottom lip again, and this time, his eyes looked like he’d rip my tongue out if I did it again.Interesting.“She said it made her too conspicuous.” I pulled my lip between my teeth and smiled. “I rather like being conspicuous.”

Tynan lifted a brow, and I noticed the small scar running through it. He was covered in violence but as controlled as a machine; I was pretty sure it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

“So, you liked it earlier today when the police caught you breaking and entering?”

Anger surged, and I flexed my fist, willing it to heel. “I wasn’t breaking and entering. I left my phone in Mara’s apartment and went back to get it, but I didn’t have a key.”

Tynan made a low noise that sounded like he was both agreeing with me but at the same time not believing me.Well, I was used to not being believed even when I was telling the truth.It was the reason I’d gone back to Mara’s apartment in the first place; she was missing, and no one would believe me. Not her building manager, who did, though, offer to look into it if I let him grope me. No fucking wonder he called the police on me that day. And not the police. No matter what I felt his character might be, I doubted Tynan would respond any differently. Like the police, he’d just see her as one more troubled young woman, transient and unpredictable, who couldn’t hold down a job, was involved with drugs, and hadn’t had a stable address for the last three years.

Of course, I took responsibility for that. I’d gone from parentified daughter to parentified friend. We were each other’s lifelines from our abusive home lives, clinging to tales of female retribution and justice likeThe Girl with the Dragon TattooandSailor Moon.The only real example of love we’d ever had was the kind we had for each other, but when I went to juvie, Mara was…alone. I’d left her alone. And now she was gone.

I knew something had happened to her, and I would do whatever it took to find out what. And I would do it alone.

“I’m…sorry about all the trouble,” I started and slid off the stool. Apologies were an unfamiliar taste on my tongue. I knew how to make amends when I was wrong, but I just had so few people that I was close to…no, I had one person. Mara. And now she was gone.

“No trouble at all.” Tynan reached out and gripped the edge of the counter, the ripple of tension through his muscles hinting it was more trouble than he was letting on. “I owe Jon…” He trailed off, a shadow darkening his brow. “I owe him,” was all he said in conclusion.

“Well, you don’t owe me.” I bristled, wanting to be clear. I wasn’t some debt to be paid to my father, that was for sure. “Thank you for letting me stay here. I’ll be out of your hair in six weeks.”I grabbed my cell from the counter and shook my head. “All this trouble for this stupid thing.”

Tynan’s gaze pinned to mine for a long second, and I shivered. It was like he could see right through me. Right to the very depths. But what was most unsettling wasn’t that he could…it was that he actually looked.

“I left my phone number.” He nodded to a piece of paper on the counter.

“I’m sure I won’t need it,” I said and then quickly tempered it with, “But thank you.”

He came around the counter, and I had to fight to stay still, half of me wanting to run away, the other half desperate to move closer. When he reached me, he towered over my five-foot-two frame.

“I don’t know what happened, but if you need something…anything, Sutton, I’m here.”

Hearing him offer his support like a knight offering his fealty…I quashed the temptation before its hold could strangle me.I wasn’t a princess anymore.

“I’m really fine. Thanks,” I said and headed for the bedroom, the sizzle of his gaze making me wonder if he could see the giant scorpion on my back, hiding under the robe.It made me wonder if he could see all the dark secrets I was hiding.

“I’ll check in tomorrow,” he said just as I reached the door.

Thanks for the warning,I thought and looked over my shoulder at him, fighting to keep my expression impassive. He could check in all he wanted; it wouldn’t stop me from figuring out what happened to my best friend.

“Goodnight, Tynan.”

His jaw flexed. “Goodnight.”

Chapter Four

Tynan

Istared at Jon’s service photo on the screen. His crystal blue eyes were so damn bright it was like he was right there on the other side. Even in the image, he still had that look about him like he was…indestructible. Hell, it was how I’d always seen him. Thought of him. Like there was nothing that could take him down.

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