She stepped from the hall and saw a figure standing at the window. It was Thario. He turned slowly and she took in hisbody highlighted from the lightning flashing above the trees. The man was very good looking, and she couldn’t believe that he was interested in her.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Just can’t get back to sleep. The storm.” Frog came over and licked her hand before going back to Thario.
“Yeah. Same.”
“I thought I would get some water.”
Thario moved to the kitchen and grabbed a glass for her, filling it before she could get in there.
“Thank you.” She took the glass from him, keeping her gaze on him as she took a drink.
“You have very pretty eyes.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “So do you.”
“Thank you.”
"You are very good-looking."
He shook his head. “I’m a mess.”
“Not from my perspective.”
He reached out and took her hand. “Thank you. It’s hard for me to accept a compliment sometimes.”
She nodded. “My brother used to tell me I was ugly and useless.”
“He’s a bastard.”
“He is. I don’t know why my parents didn’t do more to stop him. They had to know he killed Daniel. They certainly acted like it.”
“People do weird things.”
“What do you mean?”
Thario shook his head. “Let’s sit.”
Guilt flashed over her. She'd heard him talking about how sore he felt if he wore his legs too much, and how his wheelchair had burned up in the fire. He had to be in pain.
"Sure." She took his hand and led him to the couch, settling not too far away from him, then turned to face him. She hugged her legs tight, wishing they were closer so she could hold him tight. Frog settled on the floor next to Thario with his head resting on Thario's foot.
“I was a SEAL before the bomb that took my leg. I saw a lot of disgusting stuff. A lot of it was perpetrated by families who didn’t stop their loved ones from doing awful things.”
“Oh, like what?”
He shook his head, and she wanted to tell him she could handle whatever he had to say.
“There’s a lot of bad out there. Like what your brother did, but worse. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met some great people, but there are really bad people out there, too.”
"That's awful. I guess I never really thought that what happened to me could have happened to others."
"It can and does. I loved being a SEAL, but I love doing what I do. Maybe that's why it really burns me that your brother was trafficking while he was working with me to stop trafficking."
She nodded, not really understanding what all her brother had done, just knowing it was wrong.
“Do you really think he was moving people through our barn?”
