I release a breath and relax. She leans toward me and hugs me. I hug her back, hard, needing the touch. She doesn’t move away until I do. Rubbing my hand down my face, I sigh.
“I’m sorry. I should be taking care of you. Not the other way around.”
She tilts her head at me. “But youaretaking care of me. You let me stay at your house and have made sure I’ve eaten. You’ve been amazing. It’s okay to need other people and not just take care of them.”
I take a sip of my tea, giving me a moment to find my voice. Setting it down, I run my finger along the cup’s rim. “I learned a long time ago not to need anyone. Then Ansley came along and turned my world upside down.” I shake my head.
Bec takes a sip of her tea. “How did she do that?”
Running my hands down my robe, I sigh. Maybe it’s time to open up more. “I’ve never really had friends. Growing up, I was homeschooled; I even took online classes during college. When I finally left home and got a job, it was the first time I’d interacted with people my stepfather didn’t hire.” I take another sip of my tea. It’s the truth, even if I’m not telling her exactly what happened to me.
“Ansley found me crying in the bathroom at work and adopted me, so to speak.” That really didn’t happen, but it’s what Ansley tells people, and I don’t deny it. Besides, it makes me look less crazy if people think I do cry. “I tried my hardest to shake her, but she wasn’t having it. She became my first best friend, then Caroline came along. Now I have you and Bailey too. It’s wild to me how I went from a girl who couldn’t leave her house to someone who has all these friends with a great job and a house I love.”
“You couldn’t leave your house?” she asks. I take a shaky breath, realizing I revealed a little too much.
“Yeah, see, my stepfather was very controlling. I wasn’t allowed to do certain things that other girls my age were doing.” I swallow and play with the edge of my robe. Now that I’m talking, I feel like I can’t stop. “Ansley’s the only person I’ve toldthis to. I haven’t even told Caroline. It’s not something I like to talk about.” I’m not sure why I’m confiding in Bec, but ever since that day at the coffee shop I’ve felt a connection with her.
“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”
Lifting one shoulder. “I’ve kept parts of me hidden for so long, so I’m trying to learn to open up more, but I don’t want to talk about it anymore. It might give me another nightmare.” That might not happen, but it’s possible. In reality, I’m exhausted. This week has been draining.
“I have nightmares sometimes, too,” she says. I take another sip of my tea. “When I was seventeen, Connor saved my life.” Her voice cracks slightly, like she’s just now realizing he’s still in the hospital. I put my hand on hers, trying to offer her some comfort.
“How’d he do that?” I ask.
“He saved it more than once. The first time I met him and Bass, they were moving out of their college dorm. Connor said he left a box of snacks on the ramp to their U-Haul because he didn’t want to open the door and close it again. Well, I stole their snacks.” She chuckles.
I smile at the thought. “You stole their snacks?”
“Yeah. I was homeless and starving. My grandpa had been admitted to the hospital, and his house had foreclosed, so I had nowhere to stay. Not that I got along all that well with my grandpa. We fought like crazy, but he was the only family I had.” She sighs. “Anyway, two men were following me, and apparently, they were going to try to kidnap me and force me into human trafficking.”
I suck in a breath. “Do you know who the guys were?” I don’t like where this is going.
She shakes her head. “Connor said they were part of a crew, and they answered to someone higher on the totem pole. Sincethat night, Connor has worked his ass off trying to clean up this town by hiring people that could end up in that gang.”
Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.“So, what happened?” I ask.
“Well, I took their snacks and ran off. Connor threatened the guys and told them he’d kill them if anything happened to me. They got the couch they were moving loaded into the U-Haul, Bass drove it to their new apartment, and Connor searched the streets for me.” She smiles and shakes her head.
“He never found me because I was creeped out by the guys and wound up going to the address Bass gave me to their new apartment. When I arrived, Bass called Connor and told him I was sleeping on the couch. Of course, Connor refused. He took the couch, and I slept in his bed. I felt guilty as hell. I was awake and gone before they even woke up, though.”
Victor has wanted Connor’s help for so long because Connor has been responsible for cleaning up this town. Connor doesn’t like Victor because of his relationship with Donovan. “Do you happen to know who those guys answered to? Like, who was their boss?” I already know the answer. I know I do.
She narrows her eyes at me. “I found out later that their boss was Donovan Castiel, but Connor knew that all along.” I suck in a breath. “Why?”
I bring my hand up to my throat and look away from her. She almost became one of the women in Donovan’s clutches.Oh god.Now more than ever, I hope Connor pulls through this. “Please don’t hate me,” I whisper. Bec leans forward and gazes at me.
“I could never hate you, Liv.”
I finally look at her. Those are famous last words. “Donovan Castiel is my stepfather.”
Chapter forty-one
Victor
Still staring at her text, I rub my hand over my jaw. I wasn’t asleep when she sent it, so I grabbed my phone as soon as it buzzed on my nightstand. My heart seizes in my chest seeing her words.You hurt me.I was the last person that was supposed to hurt her, yet I had. It was like Malachi had said. I rejected her. Giving into my own fears of what happened between Josie and me, I allowed that to guide the relationship with Olivia.
I want to call and check on her, especially since she’s texting me at three in the morning. Did something else happen to her friends? Did she have a night terror? Does she want to hurt herself? Instead, I call Arden.
