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“Look, Theodora,” Rori begins, but I interrupt her.
“It’s Theo,” I say with a small smile.
“Right,” she says, shuffling on her feet.
I fold my arms across my chest and keep my head forward, waiting for what she’s about to say.
“Look, I don’t know you. Dax and King both have very different opinions about you.”
I turn my head and cock an eyebrow and she laughs gently.
“Well, anyway, regardless of both of them, I make my own opinions on people. I don’t know how I feel about you yet. You’ve caused problems in my home and I’m protective of my boys.”
Her revelation takes me by surprise at how comfortable she is talking about the Rhivers mansion andher boys. A slight pang of jealousy worms its way through me.
“Your home?” I question. I tell myself I’m just curious and not nosey as fuck, but we both know the truth.
She smiles at me, which seems like a genuine smile.
“Yeah. My home,” she confirms. “But what I will say is thank you for taking down that motherfucking son of a bitch.” She laughs and I study her.
“Carlo?” I question, even though she can’t be talking about anyone else.
“Yes. The bastard got what was coming to him.”
I nod and look back out at the view. I don’t know how to feel about Rori, but I’ll take a friend if I can get one.
“We’re not friends,” she says and I panic, thinking I’ve just voiced my thoughts out loud. “Like I said, I don’t know you and I’m protective of both Dax and King. They’re my family and so far all you’ve done is cause trouble. But I respect you. I want to be upfront. I haven’t got a problem with you, Theo,” she says, then turns her whole body to face me. I look into her eyes as she finishes her speech. “But if you hurt either of them, I most definitely will hurt you.”
I nod and accept what she’s saying. I have no idea how long she’s been here. I definitely don’t remember King ever mentioning her before, but who am I to disagree. If it were me, I’d be the same. Of course she’s protective of her family.
“I understand. However, I think it’s impossible to hurthim.” I emphasise, meaning King.
She peeks over my shoulder and smiles slightly before looking back at me.
“You’d be surprised.” She winks and then walks off in the direction she came.
I turn to look back at the view when a presence on my other side startles me.
King stands quietly to my right, looking out at the view. Instead of his pristine suit, he’s wearing suit trousers and a crisp white shirt, unbuttoned at the top. His sleeves are rolled up and his tattooed skin moves like a piece of art as he swipes a hand through his messy hair, his classic fedora nowhere in sight.
I check out my choice of outfit and cringe at my plain long-sleeved, white summer dress hiding my scars and sitting softly mid-thigh. My dark hair is swept up in a messy bun and my eyes are almost swollen shut from crying. But him. How can he make looking like shit look so good?
“You look like shit,” I say, turning away from him.
A slight chuckle comes from him, which startles me. He seems so relaxed.
“Come with me?” he asks, stepping slightly ahead, down the bank towards the lake.
I look between his eyes and contemplate going with him. He does look like shit. Like he’s been up all night. Maybe our brawl affected him a little more than I thought it ever could.
“Please, Theo.” He sounds defeated, using my name instead of Theodora, which he likes to wind me up with.
I nod once and follow him slowly down the hill.
* * *
King leadsme down towards the lake and we follow it along in complete silence. The lake is starting to meet the trees and eventually, we’re well within the depths of the woods, the lake still on our right side as we walk alongside it.
