Angrythat those kids had treated Ryan that way. The thought of someone telling Ryan he was anything other thanperfectmade me literally see fucking red.
Nowonderhe had a hard time accepting he was attracted to me at first! He was probably carrying around those shitty words his whole fucking life!
I was so goddamn livid; I wanted to totally forget about my promise to Ryan and hunt down that Kenny bitch right the fuck now and cut his fucking dick off.
However, under the rage was this nagging feeling of remorse or guilt on some level. He kept talking about this dark angel that never showed up to save him.
His mother had mentioned it before, too, and Ryan had been calling meangellately.
Was that… supposed to be me?
Confirming what I already suspected, Ryan dug through the box and pulled out an album. He flipped through it until he landed on another photo of him equally toothless but standing on the front porch of Fairview with the flower sign from the story.
He gave me a bashful grin.
“Took over a decade, but this is for you, I guess.” He slipped the photo out of the album and handed it to me. My mom took it for you so you could see my flower sign.”
I still couldn’t speak. My throat had a massive lump in it, and I swallowed, looking down at my tiny ginger snap and his perfect flower sign.
I was his dark angel.
I was supposed to have been there protecting him! And instead, I was… what? Being groomed by DamianfuckingRyker to protect pedophiles instead, apparently…
Oooohhhh, the anger was back…and this time, it wasn’t directed at bitch-ass Kenny Samuels.
It was directed at someone much more dangerous.
I swallowed, forcing back the painful lump in my throat as I glanced back at Ryan, who was oblivious to the chaotic storm of emotion that was raging through me.
“Anyway. I know I get really uptight about doing things properly here, but you have to understand… This place was my father’s legacy. It’s all I have left of him. When he died, I vowed to take it over and keep it alive. I want… I want to run this place in a way that would have made him proud.”
Seeing the anxious look cross over his face, a crack in my anger broke open, and I reached out to touch his hand.
“Of course your dad would be proud of you, Ryan. How could he not be? Look at everything you’ve done to keep Fairview alive. You basically run this place all by yourself. You’re amazing, baby.”
He chuckled and put the album back in the box he had been unpacking before I arrived.
“I don’t know about that. We’ve been closed for a while now, and I’m getting a little bit worried. We have savings, but they’ll only last so long. I was hoping to go through some of this junk and see if there was anything worth selling to help cover us for a bit longer.”
I frowned at that, absolutelyappalledthat he was even worried about money at all.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were stressed about money? Baby, it’s my fault we’re on lockdown. I’ll cover all your bills until we can get you back up and running.”
Ryan gave me a sad smile.
“I appreciate that, angel. I do. But all your money is tied up right now. Vox’s too. I had no idea how expensive it was to outbid hit men. He was showing me some of the offers Damian had out there, and I think it would be better to hold onto your cash in case we need it to keep your sisters safe.”
Despite the way all my hair stood up on end at his use of the nicknameangel,that burning sting of fury ripped through me again.
Fucking. Damian.
Ryan was barely paying attention to me anymore. He was back in‘Ryan mode,’with his adorable frown painted on his face as he pulled another box toward himself.
“I’m pretty sure granny Fairview left us a sterling tea set in here somewhere… silver’s always worth something…” he muttered.
I watched in agony as my ginger snap dug through his attic for family heirlooms to pawn off so he could keep his father’s legacy afloat. It was sending every single instinct I had to take care of him into a frenzy.
This wasmyfault.
