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I cut my eyes over to see Rumor pressing her lips together to keep from laughing. I wished she would. I wanted to hear it again.
• thirty-two •
“You have a dirty mouth.”
Rumor
King stood at the door of the cottage as if he was guarding it.
“Do I just get a few things? How long do I need to stay at the stables?” I asked him, still not sure I believed his reason.
He seemed tense, and the way he kept scanning the area, as if he was ready for someone to jump out with a gun and start shooting, was making me nervous.
“Put all your things in the suitcase,” he said, taking one more look out over the property before closing the door and locking it. He turned to me then and nodded his head toward the bedroom. “I’ll help you. Come on.”
I pointed at the fridge. “What about the food? It’ll go bad.”
“I’ll send someone to get it. You just worry about your things.”
He made his way toward me and smiled. It wasn’t his real smile. He was on edge and trying to cover it up.
“Maybe it’s time you take me to a bus stop,” I suggested.
He froze and stepped closer to me. “No. Pack your things, sweets. You’re going to the stables. My room. Not a fucking bus station.”
“This is about me. You’re lying. The shooter was after me. Hill has someone looking for me, doesn’t he? I’m bringing this all to your door. To Maeme’s door.” As I said the words, I saw the truth in his eyes. I was right. They were hiding me. Trying to protect me. I shook my head. “NO! I am leaving. I will not have you or Maeme shot because of me. I don’t want this. I won’t stay here!” Panic was rising in my chest as I said the words. Fear for the people who had helped me. Fear that I might not live another day.
I had to run. There was no other answer. My time was up.
He reached out and wrapped his fingers around my arm. “You aren’t leaving. We are safe. You will be safe. Here. With me,” King said through clenched teeth.
I tried to pull my arm free of his grip. “I can’t stay here!”
King’s much larger body backed me up until my back hit the wall. “You will do as I say, Rumor. You’re gonna pack your things and get in my truck. We’re going to the stables.”
Tears filled my eyes. “I don’t want to be here.”
He grabbed my jaw. “Yes, you do.”
“Just let me go,” I sobbed as a tear rolled down my right cheek, then my left.
King’s nostrils flared as he stared down at me. “I’m not letting you go. I’m keeping you safe. I swear to God, the only ones who will get hurt are the ones trying to get to you. Trust me, sweets. You gotta trust me.”
I laid my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. I felt so helpless. This was a disaster that I had created. I should have never run. I should have stayed.
“I did this,” I whispered.
“The fuck you did,” he said angrily. “That bastard you were married to did it.”
I opened my eyes and stared up at him. “Were? I’m not divorced.”
His jaw flexed, and there was something there in his eyes. He knew something. Did he know where Hill was? Was Hill dead? Had I missed that on the news?
“Is he dead?” I whispered, almost afraid to hope. Ashamed to hope.
King nodded his head once, and I let out a sob as my knees buckled. He was gone. Dead. He’d never find me. I’d never have to see him again. I was the target of the Mafia right now, it seemed, but Hill was no longer a nightmare I had to face.
“Rumor,” King said, almost like a warning.
