No, that was ridiculous. Why would someone break in here? Most people wanted to get out of here.
“Who . . . who are you?” she asked, grasping the book tight to her chest as her heart raced.
He was sitting in an armchair, holding something on his lap.
Wally, her whale. She didn’t know how she’d managed to keep him hidden from Fergus all this time. But she wasn’t going to allow some weirdo stranger who broke into other people’s bedrooms to hurt him.
Wally was the only thing she had left from her other life. Before Fergus.
It hadn’t been much of a life. But it had been better than this one.
“Why do you have Wally?” she asked.
“Wally? Not a very good name for a whale,” he said, holding up the toy and staring at it.
Who was this guy? He had hair the color of midnight and eyes to match. She wasn’t even exaggerating. He had the darkest eyes she’d ever seen. And long, thick eyelashes.
His skin was lightly tanned, and he was dressed in pressed pants and a white shirt that was buttoned to his chin. He looked quiet and unassuming. The sort of person who might blend into the background.
However there was something off about him. Something she couldn’t put her finger on.
He seemed kind of frightening.
She couldn’t put her finger on why he seemed scary. He wasn’t doing anything. He hadn’t threatened her.
She’d met a lot of scary men in her time, including the man who had come into her room last night.
Jared Bartolli had been in her bedroom.
For a start, she’d thought he was there because he wanted to hurt her. To use her the way his father did.
But he’d seemed almost concerned about her.
You can’t believe anything that anyone says in this hellhole.
Yeah, she knew that.
But there was something about Jared that made her want to believe him.
You’re being ridiculous.
His offer of a lock for her door was probably a trap. Same with asking her if she wanted out.
Of course she fucking wanted out! Who would want to stay in this hellhole?
However, she wasn’t going to admit that to anyone whose last name was Bartolli.
Angie knew that everyone here was waiting for her to trip up so they could run to her husband.
Who would have to punish her.
God knew he loved to do that.
The one time she’d attempted to run, he’d found her, dragged her back, locking her in a windowless room until she’d learned her lesson.
Don’t think about that.
“What do you want? Why would you buy me these?”
