His gaze traveled down my body before he turned to face the basement door again. “That’s how Skurge found me, you know.”
I blinked. “Who’s Skurge?”
He grinned. “Our former President. The longest-running president of our crew. After I stormed into that drug house and put a knife into everyone’s stomach, I was on the run from the police. Stumbling around, covered in their blood, trying my best to stay hidden. He came across me in a ditch about five miles outside of my hometown.”
“What happened when he found you?”
He shrugged. “The man pulled me up onto my feet, dusted me off, and said I had a choice. I could choose to keep running until I was caught, or I could stop running and never have to run again.”
“Seems like an easy enough choice.”
His thumb started stroking my skin. “He gave me the ability to be in control and protect those I loved. He trained me. Put me through the ringer. Convinced me to leave everything behind, even my clothes, and come with him for a fresh start.”
I couldn’t help but to ask. “What happened to your mother?”
He sighed heavily. “I still send her money regularly. She’s… well, she’s as good as she can be for snorting up every other night. But, I make sure she’s got enough for food and things that she needs. Though, I’m sure she just blows it on more coke.”
I saw a side of him I never thought would have existed. A tender side. A loving side. A side that cared beyond anything I had ever experienced or seen in my entire life. He loved just as big as his mountainous form, and I felt honored that he was comfortable enough to open up to me.
“Your turn to spill your guts now,” he said with a cheeky grin.
I blinked. “Wait, what?”
He turned to face me, propping his thick thigh up onto the mattress. “You’ve got my story, now it’s your turn to give me yours. How does a girl like you end up in a position like this?”
“You mean, how do I end up kidnapped and down in this basement?”
His head tilted to the side. “You know what I mean.”
I slid my hand away from his and stared off over his shoulder. I didn’t even know where to begin. Thoughts of Gordon raced through my mind, and it made me regret ever meeting him in the first place.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I said breathlessly.
Ranger placed his hand on my knee. “Start at the beginning, if you don’t know where else to start.”
So, I did. I cleared my throat and closed my eyes, hoping that my past didn’t change the way he looked at me.
Because I found myself becoming fond of the way Ranger looked at me.
“I met Gordon when we were in high school,” I said.
“Ah, high school sweethearts.”
I snickered before I heaved a heavy sigh. “Yeah, something like that. It was such an odd pairing, too. I mean, he was the resident bad boy who thought being hard was throwing a drink at a teacher’s feet, and I always had my nose stuck in a book.”
“How long did you two date?”
I shook my head. “Forever, it seems. It was sort of this whirlwind thing that turned into us… it just…”
He squeezed my knee softly. “Got away from you?”
I opened my eyes and was shocked when I didn’t feel tears streaking my cheeks. “Yeah, kind of. I mean, I didn’t see any reason not to be with him, and I loved him. I really did. It just…”
“Yeah, I get it,” he murmured.
I groaned. “Anyway, we kept doing our thing, and eventually I started applying to medical schools.”
“Doctor. Nice.”
