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“Yeah.” She glanced between him and Gabriel. “You do his homework?”
“Just the math. It’s a miracle he can count to ten.”
“I can count to one.” Gabriel gave him the finger.
Chris sighed. He’d settled onto the end of the bed again, his expression flat and dark and full of unidentifiable emotion. “Just tell us what happened with Seth and Tyler, Becca.” His voice was low, intimate, almost too soft for company. He met her eyes and held them, making her pulse step up. “Then you can get out of here.”
Becca couldn’t sort out the sudden emotion—she felt as if her heart had started scattering butterflies through her abdomen, then he’d kicked her in the stomach and pissed them all off.
She swallowed. “They came by the pet store where I work. They were stealing dog food.”
“Does Michael know that’s why you’re here?” said Nick.
She shook her head. “Does it matter?”
Gabriel snorted. “Doubt it.”
A slow peal of thunder rolled in the distance. “They threatened you?” said Chris.
Her arm still throbbed. She had to make a conscious effort to keep from touching it. “Someone else came in, and they ran off. It’s fine.”
Chris was watching her a bit too intently. “They did hurt you.”
“I’m fine.”
A bolt of lightning split the sky, somewhere beyond the trees. This time, thunder cracked.
Becca shoved out of the chair and tucked her hair behind her ears. She should never have come here. “Forget it.”
She felt Chris behind her when she made it to the stairs. “Wait a minute,” he said.
She didn’t. “Whatever your mess is with that guy Tyler, get me out of it, okay?”
“Stop. Wait. Just tell me—”
“You stop.” She whirled on him at the door. “You, Chris. You stop. I get hassled enough. I need my job. I don’t need to be in the middle of some version of West Side Story meets High School Musical.”
“I’m not trying to hassle you.” His voice was intense and quiet, the way you’d talk to a cornered animal.
“Yeah, well, then you’re the only one.” She seized the knob and gave it a firm yank. The humidity swirled through the doorway to grab her, latching onto her skin and refusing to let go. She stormed off his porch.
Chris kept up. “Wait.”
She ignored him, shoving through the night air to get to her car.
“Wait. Please. Just tell me what happened.”
Her key slid into the lock, but the door refused to give. She made a frustrated noise and slapped it with the heel of her hand.
Then it started to rain.
She swore. “Great.”
Chris was still right behind her. She heard his breathing, could feel his presence like a weight at her back. Rain touched her cheek and rolled down her neck, finding a path under the neckline of her shirt to trail along her shoulder. The water felt warm, like a finger tracing the side of her face.
The thought made her shiver, and she swiped it away.
Chris reached out and took hold of the door handle. It lifted and opened without protest.
