Having easy access to a hacker would certainly help the Jack’s business. If only he wasn’t planning to leave town as soon as Hope was free. It would be hard to hide Hope in Seattle, but not impossible. Razor Jack’s certainly had the room.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she grimaced. She might have ruined her chances with him.
“He’ll be back, Taryn.” Dani spoke softly, her tone reassuring.
“I wasn’t thinking about him.” Her denial was almost immediate.
Dani’s look said that she totally knew Taryn was lying.
“Fine. Maybe I was thinking about him a little.” Taryn waved her hand, as if it would clear her conflicted thoughts. “Enough about me. Tell me about your date.”
It was the perfect distraction and for the first time in hours, Taryn relaxed as she listened to Dani gush about her evening. Every aspect of her meal was described in the smallest detail. The plot of the movie, lovingly described. Even the kiss they’d shared at the end of the night.
Taryn smiled. What told her the most about Dani’s evening was the fact that her friend had taken the time to notice all those details. She’d relaxed enough around this guy to enjoy herself. That was priceless.
Dani’s background was as fucked up as Taryn’s. Although Dani had blossomed and grown over the last few years, she still had trouble letting herself get close to anyone, especially men.
Taryn completely understood.
But where Taryn had thrown herself back into sex with abandon and a fuck-you attitude during her second year of freedom, Dani was more tentative.
While Taryn had worried that Dani would never even date, she couldn’t fault Dani for her hesitation.
“You really like him.” Taryn watched Dani’s reaction.
“Shut up!” Dani’s face flamed, but she couldn’t stop her smile.
“You’re allowed to be happy, you know.” Taryn looked her dead in the eyes, her voice completely serious. “You can also leave here at any time.”
Despite Taryn’s somber tone, Dani cracked up.
Taryn frowned. “I’m serious.”
“Oh, I know,” Dani said. “The whole ‘you can be happy’ speech is pretty rich coming from the woman who just broke up with her boyfriend.”
“He isn’t my boyfriend.” The denial was automatic. “And we didn’t break up. We just...” She still didn’t know what the fuck had happened.
Or what to call it.
Or even how to deal with it.
Instead, Taryn refocused their conversation. “We were talking about you. There’s nothing keeping you here. You can be happy. You can be free. You can be loved.”
Taryn wouldn’t require a favor from Dani when she left. If anything, she owed Dani multiple favors for all the times she’d kept Taryn sane when nightmares left her shaking. They’d huddled together, trading stories in the dark.
Dani was Taryn’s sister in every way except blood. “I only want you to be happy,” Taryn repeated stubbornly.
“I know you do and I love you for it. I’m happy here.”
Taryn started to protest, then stopped when she recognized the look on Dani’s face. It was her don’t-you-dare-interrupt-me face.
“I like working here. I make good money. I have respect. Responsibility.” She paused, looking pensive. “Where else could I get that with my background and no experience?”
Taryn growled.
Dani laughed again. “In time, I may want to look for something else. Stretch my wings. But I’m comfortable here.”
“I love that you’re comfortable here, but?—”
