Page 16 of Desperate People

The thing is, my gut, the one I’ve trusted to keep me alive so far? It’s telling me something is amiss.

I have no doubt I’m right.

Lucy is in danger.

From what? I have no clue.

And I don’t think she has any idea, either.

Not about the danger.

Not about me waiting for it, watching out for her from the shadows.

Not really.

She thinks I walked away.

That I said no and meant it.

That I was strong enough to keep my distance.

But she has no fucking idea.

No clue that I never really left.

Not for a goddamn second.

How could I walk away?

When she so clearly needed someone like me to protect her—from everything.

From the world.

From the vultures.

From herself.

This woman.

She trusts too easily.

She smiles too brightly.

She lives in that glittering castle of hers like the world isn’t crawling with monsters.

But I know better.

I am one.

So yeah, I did some things.

Crossed some lines.

Stepped way the hell past boundaries polite men wouldn’t dare look at.

I know all her passwords.

Not because she gave them to me.

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