Page 54 of Direct Action

“You’re not quitting the Plank.”

I blinked at him.

“Damn, I forgot again, Mr. Boss of Everything gets to tell me where I’m going to work and where I’m not going to work.”

“Jesus fuck, woman,” he exploded. “I get you’re pissed at me, and I get why. If someone helped themselves to my bank accounts, I’d be pissed as fuck. But I also hope I’d be smart enough to listen to the people around me who care about me. Not to mention give them the benefit of the doubt that they weren’t being nosy fucks and had my best interest and safety at heart.”

I knew Ryan didn’t look into my accounts because he was simply nosy. I knew he thought he had my best interests at heart. Still, it didn’t change a thing.

“You broke my trust.”

“I didn’t break your trust, Chloe. I looked into why you were working yourself to death while at the same time draining your accounts, and the only reason I did that was so I understood why you were working at the Vault and how best to get you out of a very bad situation, and I only did that after you mentioned walking fucking dogs and fell asleep mid-conversation.”

Shit. I was going to have to go back to walking dogs, cleaning office buildings, and finding a part-time job bartending somewhere. My car was fucked. I needed to get that fixed, then sell it, and it was time to talk to my mom about moving in with her to save money.

“You have no idea,” I whispered. “No fucking clue how hard I’ve worked. How hard I’m still working. How fucking tired I am. Exhausted all the time. I don’t even have time to do laundry, forget putting it away. I can’t remember the last time I went to the grocery store or cooked in my apartment. I was finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Finally. In a few months, I’d be able to start replacing the money I had to take out. I might actually be able to curl up on my couch, watch some TV. Cook a meal. Veg out and do nothing for a few hours. I was almost there, and I was getting close because of the money I made at the Vault.

“But you’re right. If working there is going to put me in danger, I can’t keep working there. But not for the reasons you think. I can’t do that to my mother. She’s going through enough. If something happened to me, she’d break, and she’s so close to it already, it would take but one more teeny thing before she crumbles. Me being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery would . . . well . . . you know.” I waved my hand in front of me and looked around the room for my clothes.

“But you are also very, very wrong. There are things . . . people who are worth everything, including putting yourself in danger to make sure that they are taken care of.”

“Chloe.”

I ignored the pain I heard in his voice and carried on. “I’ll figure it out. I always do. And I’ll be there for Poppy today because I love her and you’re right—she needs me there. But while we’re doing that, we will not be discussing where my money went.”

“Who did you visit yesterday?”

The stab to my heart was hard to push aside.

“None of your—”

“Who did we visit yesterday?”

“None—”

“Who—”

“My father!” I shouted, and watched Ryan’s torso swing back.

“Baby,” he whispered.

Then it happened. Exactly what I knew would happen. It was the exact look I never wanted from Ryan.

Sympathy.

Chapter Eighteen

But you are also very, very wrong. There are things . . . people who are worth everything, including putting yourself in danger to make sure that they are taken care of.

Shit, fuck, fuck.

She was taking care of her father.

I’d royally fucked that up.

I had no idea how much a nursing home cost, but by the look of that place, it had to be pricey. Way more than she could afford on what she made working at the Plank. But she could with the extra two grand a week coming in from the Vault.

Fucking fuck.