She sighs, but she closes the door behind her and stays in front of it, crossing her arms. “I’m going to ask you to trust me.”
I wait for the rest, but when nothing else comes, I cock my head to the side, not liking what I’m reading from her. Not one little bit.
“Of course I trust you.”
Her shoulders relax, but she doesn’t move from her spot. “Okay, good. I think I know who broke in the other day.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?” My mind whirls in a dozen directions until it snaps to Delphi. “The apartment? They left something in the apartment?”
I storm toward her, but she holds her arms out to stop me. “Listen to me, Kruger, goddamn it. I’m putting my faith in you. Please don’t let me down.” The unspokenagainhangs between us, making me swallow. But her words are enough to burn through the rage and hold me in place for a moment.
“Explain.”
“If you snap at me again, I’m going to beat you over the head with my cast. I’m getting it off tomorrow, so I don’t care if it breaks.”
I put some distance between us, not trusting myself right now. Not because I’m worried I’ll hurt her. I might be quick to anger, but I’d never put my hands on her with the intention of causing pain.
“I’m sorry for snapping, but not for worrying about you.”
“That’s fair, but please listen and hear me out before you overreact.”
I narrow my eyes and grip the desk.
“You’re right, they did leave something in the apartment.”
“What the fuck was it?”
“Themselves.”
I don’t get it until she bites her lip, and a red haze starts to slip over my vision. “There’s someone in the apartment?” I snarl.
“Yes.”
I move toward her again, so she hurries to continue. “He’s just a kid, Kruger, and he’s hurt. He’s hiding out, not trying to steal anything. He’s just trying to keep himself safe.”
“Move out of my way, Delphi,” I grit out, knowing how easy it is to manipulate a bleeding heart.
“If you lay a hand on him, Kruger, whatever this is between us is done.”
I freeze, my chest heaving as her words whip at my skin like barbed wire. “You’d choose him over me?” A part of me realizeshow fucking juvenile I sound, but I can’t help it. Is it too much to ask for me to want her to give a shit?
“Seriously?” She throws her hands up in the air, almost clipping herself in the face with her cast. “He’s a boy who has been beaten black and bloody, and he’s terrified. He sobbed in my arms and didn’t make a single fucking noise. But that silence might as well have been a scream because my soul heard it, Kruger. You keep expecting me to accept you for who you are and forgive you for the shit you did. I’m supposed to get over what happened and adjust my expectations, huh? Why? Because it suits you. Why is it always the woman who has to change and adapt?
“That night you dropped me off on the outskirts of the city. Did you even think about what would happen to me?”
I swallow, my brain trying to keep up with the direction of the conversation when my anger is clouding everything.
“I didn’t have any money, Kruger. I left the house in a panic. I didn’t bring my phone, my wallet, or even a fucking jacket. All I had were my keys, which would have been fine, but you wouldn’t let me take my car.”
My thoughts drift back to that night, when her arms were wrapped around herself to ward off the cold, but I was too raw to process everything. I was cruel to her, but I needed her gone. Even then, I wasn’t convinced of her guilt. But I knew she was in danger if she stayed because there were plenty who were more than happy to extract their pound of flesh. I open my mouth but then close it again.
“I slept under the bridge that first night. I was so fucking cold, I thought I was going to die. If it weren’t for some old homeless guy willing to share his blanket with me, I probably would have. It took me days to walk home. I learned to sleep in the day when it was safe and warmer and keep moving at night.Eventually, I made it home. Only home, and everything I had, was gone.”
“Delphi…” My voice comes out as a guttural groan.
“There’s more. I just can’t…not right now. I’m asking, no, I’m begging you to please, for once, believe me, trust me, be the man I need you to be.”
I take a deep breath. If I don’t give her what she needs here, it’ll break the fragile bond that’s been growing between us. I move into her, wrapping my hand around the back of her head, and pull her to me. “Okay, chestnut. I’ll follow your lead.”
