Page 14 of Defenseless
Ethan:It was just a black bear. They are super friendly
Chad:They are not puppies, dick
Ethan:I still have the video from Gramps’s haunted house when you were sixteen. I’d watch yourself, C
Sabina:Ooo, video of a teenage Chad???
Ethan:Squealing like a pig when Josh came at him with a fake chainsaw
Chad:It looked real
Ethan:It was Gramps’s haunted house. Nothing is real
Chad:I’m still sticking with my statement
Ethan:The best part is not only did he hide behind his girlfriend, he used her like a shield
Sabina:NO!!(creepy clown emoji)(zombie emoji)(jack-o’-lantern emoji)
Chad:I like to think I helped her define her future career path. She became a Secret Service agent. And I hate clowns. Everyone hates clowns. Don’t ever send me that emoji again
Ethan: (creepy clown emoji) (creepy clown emoji) (creepy clown emoji)
Sabina: (creepy clown emoji) (creepy clown emoji) (creepy clown emoji)
Chad:You both are children. I’m going to bed now
Ethan:Sweet dreams (of clowns)
Sabina:I still think you’re good
Chad:Don’t worry, we’ll change your mind
Chad was smiling as he plugged in his phone and pulled his comforter up to his neck. Was he going about this Sabina thing all wrong? Maybe keeping her at a distance until she decided to trust him wasn’t the way to go. Instead, should he pull her in—into his life, into his family?
He considered that option, weighing the pros and cons. If he opened up to her completely and shestilldidn’t trust him, the rejection would sting. It would more than sting. If he gave her everything he had and she walked away from him, he wasn’t sure what he’d do with that. Just thinking about that scenario made his chest tighten and his pulse spike.
And even if he wanted to try this new tactic, there was no guarantee she’d go along with it. He might have been holding back on her, but she wasn’t exactly a font of information and sharing either. In fact, since arriving in Mystery Lake, she’d been withdrawing even more. He was pretty sure that tonight was the first night she’d been out with other people since arriving in California. And that was by accident. If she’d seen Ethan’s invite before she arrived, he wasn’t confident she would have shown up.
Was it worth a try, though? Holding himself back from her wasn’t working. They’d spent the past two years as friends-not-friends. Yet he still knew no more about her past than he’d learned in the first two weeks after he’d met her. Yeah, if she walked away from him it would hurt like hell. But if she was in danger, wouldn’t it be better to have her close than to have this distance between them?
The only answer he had for himself was an unequivocal yes. His gut told him something was very wrong in Sabina O’Malley’s life. And there was no question he’d do anything to keep her safe.
Even if it meant putting his heart on the line.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Two days later,Chad walked into Bun Times Bakery just as Sabina handed over what he would swear was an envelope of cash. Bethany, the owner of the bakery, smiled and slipped it into the pocket of her apron, solving the mystery of exactly where Sabina lived. Bethany and her sister owned the four-story building that housed Bun Times. While the business occupied the lower two floors, a single two-bedroom apartment occupied the top two.
“Rent time?” he asked, coming up behind Sabina.
She gasped, spun, and lost her balance. Reaching out, he wrapped his hands around her hips and steadied her. It might have been a little harder than it should have been not to tighten his grip and pull her against him.
“You startled me,” she said, one hand resting on his chest and the other over her heart.
“I can see that,” he responded. He smiled when he spoke. It didn’t escape his notice, though, that between her reaction at the Dirty Boom and the one just now, she was jumpier than Indiana Jones in a snake pit.
Sabina was only about five foot four, and the top of her head just reached his chin. She lifted her face and blinked up at him with her blue-green eyes. He held her gaze, and her fingers twitched against the soft cotton of his shirt.
