“Didn’t you run a background check on me?”she asked incredulously.
AJ did, but that detail seemed pointless to bring up.It didn’t matter who actually collected the information.Fink had reviewed it.
“It didn’t come up.”
She furrowed her brow, staring at him in silence for a moment.
He spoke the truth.The details of her foster situation hadn’t been outlined in what he saw.Just that she’d bounced around a few times.
“Hmm.”She sat back and stared forward.
He had to turn this around.
“I look forward to meeting people who are important to you,” he said.
He couldn’t reciprocate, which was a shame.His parents were dead.Not that he’d ever introduce her to the people who raised him.She was too good for them.There were no siblings that he knew of.
Fink was alone in the world.
Until now.He had Sydney, and he never wanted to let her go.
44
Sydney
Sydney’sbrainhurt,butin the best way possible.She pressed her fingers into her temples and rubbed circles to alleviate the ache.What an unbelievable roller coaster.
When she got into the truck, she had convinced herself Fink would kill her… eventually.She wasn’t sure how or when, but she expected it to come.Why wouldn’t it?
Fink had clarified that he worked alone—had existed by himself until she forced herself into his life.He hadn’t planned to take her on as a trainee.Sure, the sex was fantastic, and frequent, but was it worth the headache of having the cops lingering around?
There were limits to what a guy could take.She’d been dumped for far less before.Why would he be any different?
Except somehow as they trekked the miles between Maine and Minnesota, she not only gained a roommate and a new residence, but she got a boyfriend who would join her at a holiday dinner with the only family she ever knew.At least, she thought that was the outcome of their conversation.
Yep.Her brain was officially scrambled.This could all be a dream at this point.
She had never been more thankful to have been wrong about something in her entire existence.Through sheer dumb luck, she’d stumbled into a life she never dreamed possible.Mutual infatuation with a smart, interesting, and attentive partner.A new, much more lucrative profession, and a hobby that made her feel alive.
Their situation wasn’t without complications, but that was how things went.She wouldn’t appreciate what she had if things were too smooth.However, now that they figured out their relationship, she was on the verge of believing that happiness was possible for her.
Crazy.
Fink
After twenty-three hours on the road, sleeping in two motels with the most uncomfortable mattresses he’d ever experienced, Fink pulled into the parking lot of Sydney’s apartment complex.
He couldn’t do these long trips like he used to.While he considered himself to be in decent shape and worked out as much as he could to keep himself limber, sitting in a truck for so long and resting in uncomfortable situations were taking their toll.At thirty-five, he sure as shit wasn’t a spring chicken anymore.
With the truck in Park, he groaned.
“You ready?”he asked, turning his attention to the woman stretching in the seat beside him.
She’d been nodding in and out for the past three hours.Though he was willing to bet she was looking forward to her own bed.He was.She had a decent mattress.It worked.Anything was better than sleeping sitting up in a truck or with springs in his back.
“Yeah,” she grunted.
He nodded.“You get the door; I’ll get the bags.”
