Page 8 of Deception and New Direction

She agreed to that?

Jack:

Ellie helped me persuade her.

Archer:

DoIthink it’s a good idea?Yes.

Archer:

DoIthink she might kill you in your sleep one night?Also, yes.

Jack:

Willing to take that chance.Danesaid he can help us move some of her stuff tomorrow.

Archer:

Text your sister too.Itwill be easier forRuthieto accept help from her than from us.

That was damn true.

Dash andImade our way back up, and once inside, he made a beeline forRuthie’sroom.Iheard a crash followed by a curse fromRuthie.Iquickly moved to her room to see if she’d fallen or hurt herself further, only to find her sitting on the edge of the bed, her crutches on the floor, andDashtrying jump on top of her.

“You okay?”Iasked. “Iheard the crash.”

AsIlooked her up and down for any sign of injury,Inoticed she had on a looseT-shirt with no bra underneath and only underwear on bottom.

“I’m fine,” she replied trying to move him off her body. “Iwas trying to put my pajama pants on and he knocked over my crutches, which were next to the bed.”

“You need help with your pants?”Iasked, trying to lighten the mood. “I’musually better at helping beautiful womenoutof their pants, butI’msureIcan handle this challenge.”

I gave her a big grin, to which she rolled her eyes.

“I don’t need you anywhere near my pants,” she retorted. “ButIforgot to get out a blanket and stuff for you for the couch.”

“Not as exciting as the pants, butIcan grab the blankets if you tell me where they are,”Isaid asItook in her room a little more.

She had a pale-pink bed with about sixty-seven pillows on it.Herroom was an eclectic mix of bright colors—mostly pink—which totally suited her personality.

Once she told me where they were,Iwalked out to the hallway to collect some blankets and a spare pillow—happyIdidn’t have to take one of the pink frilly ones from her bed—and then made my way back to the living room.

WhenIfinally settled onto her couch, which was comfortable but not nearly long enough for my tall frame, my thoughts returned to earlier in the day.Catbeing kidnapped,Ruthiegetting shot, and seeing her in the hospital.

Ruthie had put up one hell of a fight earlier tonight with those men.Archerhad sent me a clip of the security camera video fromVince’sdad’s house, showingRuthiegetting in a few good blows to the man who’d attacked her.Shewas a little hellcat, butInever wanted her to be in a situation like that ever again.

I also thought back to how good she’d looked sitting there half-dressed while putting her pajamas on.Thatgood memory was whatIfell asleep to, with the hope that there would be more good experiences with her half-naked body in my future.

3

RUTHIE

I thinkIneeded to find friends who didn’t get kidnapped.

First, it wasJack’ssisterEllie.Then, last night, it wasCat.WhowasIkidding?Thesewere my only friendsI’dmade since moving here, andIloved them dearly.

I didn’t want new friends.Ijust needed to make it so that none of them were kidnapped.

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