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I drummed my fingers on the table.
“My father beat the holy hell out of me every time he got a chance,” I said. “And now, every time I see a man that looks like him, whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy, I’m going to go out of my way to make sure that guy is having the shittiest day possible.”
His lips curved at my words, but only after he scowled ferociously at the idea of me getting beaten.
“The last girlfriend I had, when she went to visit her parents out of state, I followed her there and made sure she was safe. She found out, and we broke up because she said I was suffocating her. We broke up amicably, but it took me nearly a year to stop following her every move. It was only when she was engaged, and I found her future husband fully capable of protecting her, that I was able to stop tracking her location,” he said.
I snorted. “That’s weak.”
His eyes narrowed.
Before he could say anything, though, I pulled up my phone and showed him my location trackers.
“These are my sisters’ whereabouts. I know where they’ve gone, and what they’ve done, every step of their morning. I also have a friend keeping an eye on Keene through his cell phone since he’s not willing to wear a necklace that I bought him with a tracker in it,” I said.
“They know they’re wearing trackers?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. I just gave them one hell of a guilt trip, and make sure to replace the batteries in it every six months.”
He chuckled, making my heart catch.
God, he was sexy.
Even us comparing our overbearing insecurities wasn’t worrisome enough to take away the heat I felt for him.
“I tend to be a little overbearing and controlling, to the point of insanity,” he said. “I’ve always been this way, from a very young child, but it’s only gotten worse since I’ve gotten older and gotten more jaded along the way. I can’t promise that I’ll control those tendencies when it comes to you.”
It was like he was trying his level best to steer me away from him, yet all it was doing was making me want to get closer.
“Hannibal,” I told him bluntly. “I’m going to say this slow, so you’ll understand me. I’m not a normal girl. Things like that don’t affect me in any way. My father and family went out of their way to destroy that part of me. So when you say you’ll be there, protecting me, I’m going to tell you that I don’t care how you do it. Do it however you see fit. But just know that you’re the first person that has ever been willing to do that. Healthy or not, that’s just how I feel. Nothing you can say, bar you being a rapist or a child abuser, would ever force me to look at you with anything other than interest.”
“I’m neither of those things,” he said. “Those are the acts that turned me into this person to begin with. I might’ve been a little weird going into the military, and Lord knows it was a miracle I passed a psych eval to begin with, but I don’t condone those sorts of things. And I’ve got the dishonorable discharge to prove it.”
I sensed a story there. One I wanted to hear.
But that was for later.
This was for now.
“So we’re decided,” I said.
He tilted his head as he said, “Decided about what?”
“As my man, you’ll help me figure out what the hell is happening with my sister. And as your woman, I’ll stay around and allow you to dictate what I do and where I do it, and won’t complain about it. Until you decide that this is too much,” I said simply.
He folded his fingers together, then tucked them behind his head as he studied me.
“We’ll be a match made in hell?” he asked.
I shrugged. “We’ll be a match made in wherever we want it. I don’t care. What I do care about is eating. Thank you for buying my lunch. I’d rather them not know where I am yet.”
“Why?” he asked.
Our plates were brought out, and I stared at the patty melt with my mouth watering as I said, “Because my family has a way of ruining everything. For once, I want to think about nobody but myself.”
“And me?” he teased.
I didn’t want to blow smoke up his ass, so I told him the truth. “I don’t know yet if you’re important enough to factor into my plans.”
Was he attractive? Yes.
Was he someone I wanted to explore things with? Double yes.
But was he going to dictate how I lived my life? Not yet.
But I had a feeling he would before this was all over.
Hannibal seemed different to me.
