AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You do realize that’s strange, don’t you?”
“I’m aware.”
“Who were you before you became Jeanie Gray?”
She looks to the side, away from me, toward my kitchen. “Nobody.”
“We don’t need to go through this again.”
“Are you going to tell me I don’t kiss like a nobody?”
“I’ll tell you that your pussy doesn’t feel like a nobody. Or your lips don’t taste like nothing.”
“Prick.” She closes her eyes. “But I was nobody, okay?”
“You’re not going to tell me. I get it, although I did save your life. I feel entitled to something. For example, why do you seem so hell-bent on getting yourself killed?”
She’s quiet for a long moment. She doesn’t move, doesn’t speak, and I wonder if I’ve pushed too hard. I don’t want to make her run but I also can’t keep moving forward with her if I don’t have some level of trust.
And I did save her damn life.
“Revenge,” she says finally, almost a whisper. The word echoes through my living room and fades away.
“Revenge for what?”
“Against Malcolm. That’s all you need to know, okay?”
“What did he do to you?”
“A lot of things. It’s complicated.”
I sigh, leaning back. “Jeanie. I want to help you here. But give me something to work with.”
Her gaze sharpens and her eyes narrow. “My mother. Okay? I’m getting revenge for what he did to my mother.”
I nod slowly. “That’s something.”
“Look, you don’t have to worry about it. I’m going to leave here after I finish this drink, get a bus back into town, and figure out where to go from there. I’ll stay with a friend, scrounge up some cash, and start over. I can do this.”
“That’s a mistake.”
Her face twitches with anger. “How do you know?”
“Benedict will hunt you down, and if he finds you with your friend then he’ll kill her too.”
“How do you know it’s a her? Maybe I’ve got a boyfriend.”
“You don’t kiss like you’ve got a boyfriend.”
“Asshole.” She sighs and nods. “All right, that’s a good point. I can’t go to Lauren’s house. I can go somewhere else, sleep in the park, maybe—”
“Stop.” I hold up a hand. “You’ll sleep here, and in the morning, you’ll work for me.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I can’t.”
“You’d rather be homeless and on the run with no money and no prospects and no friends than work for me?”
She blinks, head tilted like she’s seriously considering that. “I think so.”
