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‘Pleased to meet you, Diane,’ he said. ‘Look.’
Wolf headed over to the windows. He remembered boarding these things up ten years ago. He barely remembered the person he’d been then — but his hands had put the boards up and now they’d take them down.
He grabbed a hammer and used the claw on the back of its head to pry the first board away from the window. Light flooded the room and Diane let out a small yelp of fear.
‘Please, leave them. I’ll just go, I’ll—’
What was wrong? This poor girl had obviously been through some shit. As he looked at her pained expression, he felt a strange sense of kinship. Not only was his Daddy radar going crazy, but there was something else, too.
He could sense it. She was damaged, just like him.
In that moment, he felt an overwhelming urge — no, a duty — to protect her. To help that pained, scared expression leave her face forever.
‘Sorry,’ he said, putting the hammer down. ‘I’ll leave them up. It’s fine. And if you want to, you can go. I’m not keeping you here, nothing like that. You’re free to come and go as you please. I’ll help you move your stuff if you want. I really don’t want you to be scared.’
‘I can go?’
‘Of course. But you don’t have to. Not like I own you or anything.’
She paused for a moment, looking at the shaft of light coming through the un-boarded section of window. ‘What would you like me to do?’
Wolf was surprised by the question. She’d said it with a childlike innocence that was incredibly appealing. It was like she wasdesperateto trust someone. He felt that duty again, that responsibility, to help this scared young woman.
‘I’d like you to stay,’ he said, softly. ‘And talk to me. I figure someone living the kind of life you’re living must have a pretty interesting story.’
‘Nope,’ she said. ‘Nothing interesting about me.’
Little liar, thought Wolf.
‘In that case, stay and pack. We can work together. I can fix you up a drink. I was gonna have a whiskey, but something tells me you’re not a whiskey drinker.’
She shook her head.
‘Tell you what. If you’re good, I’ll make you a hot chocolate. I’ve got a camp stove. How does that sound?’
He wasn’t imagining it, her eyes definitely widened when he mentioned hot chocolate.
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll stay and pack. And drink a hot chocolate.’
‘If you’re good.’
‘I’m always good,’ she said, pouting.
I’ll bet you are, Little one.
*
Why, why, why was she doing this? Staying with a man who was probably dangerous? For all she knew, this guy was Hank Groat’s best friend.
It was stupid to be here. She should just run off when he wasn’t looking. Sophia felt sure that he knew she’d given him a fake name. You’d have thought after all these years of lying about it, she might be a teeny, tiny bit better. But no.
‘So, Diane,’ Wolf said, a note of something like humor in his voice, ‘when did you first move in here?’
‘Not sure,’ she lied. ‘Couple of years ago.’
She’d smuggled all her possessions into the Den in packing boxes which — conveniently — she’d kept in the other bathroom. She’s always imagined that she’d be moving to her own place when the time came to pack everything up again, not running off to stay with a friend.
‘And what’s with all the toys? I mean, I like them. Stuffies got a special place in my heart. Some of my best friends still play with them. Adults, you know?’
