Page 35 of Burning Escape

“Who would do this to you?” Judging by his tone, Tori had no doubt Orion would take down whoever it was if they were here. Probably his inner Captain America talking.

He set the dead roses on her little dining room table, right inside the door. Neither of them touched the knife.

She bent over to unlace her boots, grateful her hair created a curtain hiding her face. “Probably the same creep that wrecked my windshield.”

“Your ex-boyfriend?”

She nodded and plopped down on her couch. “He used to buy me red roses.”

Orion sat next to her. Didn’t say anything, but she appreciated the warmth of his presence.

She laid her head back and stared at the ceiling.

Maybe she should tell him. Just get it out. Then he’d see that he really had lucked out when she’d walked away from him that night they’d met. That a hero like him had no business with a girl like her.

But she’d never get it out if she looked at him, so she kept her focus on a small crack in the plaster above her. “I could blame it on the fact that my mom died when I was really little, like I told you before, and my dad kinda wasn’t around much. He died my senior year of high school, but the sad thing is, I barely knew him when he was alive.”

She swallowed and sat up. Orion still didn’t speak, but he listened. He listened with his whole body. She didn’t feel any judgment or censure coming from him.

She continued. “My sisters were the ones who took care of me until they moved out. And they have life figured out. I mean, Libby is married and has two adorable kids. She’s successful, and her husband works all over the world. My sister Penny was an ATF agent and is now a PI, and she recently helped rescue a governor and his family. But me? I’m the screwup who got sent to the principal’s office weekly and has jumped from guy to guy since middle school. And I guess…I was lonely. So I was easy pickings when I met Razor at a night club I was way too young to get into.”

“He’s your ex?”

She nodded. “He was part of a gang, a bottom-feeder dealer. But I didn’t care. For a little while, I belonged somewhere. I didn’t even mind that he was possessive and controlling. I thought he was being protective. And…I dunno, it was a messed-up way of feeling like someone cared.”

“So you were part of the gang too?”

“Not really. I didn’t want much to do with his friends, but I knew about the illegal stuff. I stayed out of it for the most part, I just didn’t want to be alone. But when Razor was going to go to prison after shooting a guy, he moved up here to stay off the grid so the cops couldn’t find him. I came with him.”

“That’s what brought you to Alaska?”

“Yup. But he worked the crabbing ships and was gone for weeks at a time. I needed money, so I got a job at the gym. I loved it. One of the girls there taught me how to be a trainer, and I met some good friends. I started seeing what real life could be. That being alone wasn’t so bad and I was actually able to take care of myself. Every day I got stronger, pushed myself to my limits physically, and it changed my mentality too. And I started getting repeat clients. I was helping them, and that felt good.”

“Then what?”

“Eventually, Razor came back from one of his trips and said the coast was clear in California, but I didn’t want to go back. I told him I was done. Done with him. Done with that life.”

“I’m guessing he wasn’t too happy about that.”

“Not at all, but I wanted to live my own life. He eventually got the message, said he could do better than me, and left. But apparently, he’s back.” She fiddled with the ring on her finger. She switched it back to her right hand. “I did so much with him that I regret. Whatever he wanted, I didn’t argue. I don’t want to be that person anymore.”

“You’re not. I’ve never known a woman stronger and more sure of herself than you.” Orion’s steady gaze bored into her.

And he didn’t shrink back at what he saw. Instead he moved closer, gently tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. She couldn’t allow herself to lean into his touch.

“You don’t really know me, Ry.”

“I know enough. You care about people. Like Joann and Josiah. You’re strong. Courageous. And determined.”

His words pierced through to the soft, tender places inside. But they were dangerous. She couldn’t forget what she’d escaped. And she certainly couldn’t fall for someone else, especially someone with faith.

So she’d better make sure Orion understood.

“Look, I’ve done so much I’m not proud of, but I’m making my own way. I know you believe in God, and you have to know that I won’t be joining any kind of church. It’s just another sort of gang as far as I’m concerned. Some of the meanest people I knew growing up were the Christians in my school.”

“I’m sorry that was the case for you. Is that why you tensed up during the prayer time at the Refuge?”

“Probably. One of my boyfriends had very religious parents. His mother was awful. She told me straight to my face that her son was to have nothing to do with me since I was destined for hell. The funny thing is, he’s the one that taught me how to hotwire a car and how to find the good parties near the college campus. He wasn’t a nice guy. Yet she claimed I was the one who corrupted him.”

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