Page 34 of Leo, My Partner

“One day, me and a few of the other boys were caught stealing food. They barely fed us, and we were starving. We’d get two meager meals a day and were worked to the bone from sunup till sundown. I was the smallest, so I was able to get into this vent in the pantry door. When he caught us, Mr. Eldridge sent the others back to our dorm. When he had me alone, he told me he would look the other way, even give me more food if I did what he wanted. I knew exactly what he meant, and I wasn’t down with it. I said no and tried to hit him in the balls. Like I said, I was small, so he was able to block my attempt effortlessly. After that, he got angry. No one had ever told him no or fought back. He beat me so badly I couldn’t walk. The only reason he didn’t try to force himself on me when I was in no shape to move was because one of the security guards heard the racket and came to investigate. He stopped Mr. Eldridge and took me to the infirmary. The security guard was new, so he didn’t know he was supposed to look the other way for shit like that. The nurse thought Mr. Eldridge broke my back because I couldn’t feel anything from the waist down for days.”

“Jesus,” Ty whispers, his face drawn as he slides both pans into the oven.

I turn to him and lean against the counter, crossing my arms. “I was in the hospital wing for three weeks until I could limp back on my own to my dorm. The nurses thought it might have been a pinched nerve. They were days away from taking me to the hospital to be seen. They knew the whole operation would have blown up in their faces, so they were reluctant. I was eleven. I had been there for close to two years, and that was the worst it got. It was also the first time I felt a strong feeling of hate, so strong I was willing to risk my life so Mr. Eldridge would pay for what he did to me. I didn’t give a fuck about those other boys. It was because of how he treated me. I vowed right then and there that no one would get away for fucking me over.”

“As you should,” Ty says, arms wrapped around himself as if he’s protecting himself from my shitty story. “Is that when you killed him?” he asks, eyes brimming with anger. It’s a shock that he feels that way about something that happened in the past. People with authentic emotions are puzzling.

I shake my head. “No. I waited. I figured he would be expecting me to make a move. I still did the same shit I did so he didn’t think I changed my behavior, but I didn’t give him the sense that I wanted revenge. I wanted him to assume I was trying to put it behind me. I stayed out of his way, trying not to draw his ire. When I didn’t immediately retaliate and made him feel as if I was afraid of him, he dropped his guard.” I smile as I think about what I did next. “Everyone knew Mr. Eldridge was an alcoholic. He drank everyday while he was working and always left a bottle of whiskey in his bottom drawer. A few of the older boys told me they’d sneak sips, careful not to drink too much or he’d notice. So one night after he went home I snuck into his office and put finely crushed rat pellets in his bottle.”

“Shit. That had to be painful.”

“Oh, it was. I made sure of it. There was enough in there to have killed a man many times over. My only regret is they found him dead at home and I couldn’t stand over his body and tell him it was me.”

“How very Olenna Tyrell of you,” Ty mutters, walking over to me slowly. He wraps his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my chest so he can look at me. “Did you feel bad? Regret it?”

“Fuck no,” I say, wrapping my arms around him. “I can’t feel regret, but if I could, I’d regret that the least.”

“What happened next?”

I kiss his forehead twice, then tip his head up and kiss his lips. Ty sighs and leans into me. “After the director was killed, there was an investigation at the school, and it got shut down. A lot of people were charged, but no parents, as far as I know. Most of them claimed they had no idea what was going on there. They thought it was a military school that taught structure, excuses like that. My father had his suspicions it was me. The nurse called him about my injury and how I got it, but dear old dad told her unless I’m dead, don’t contact him anymore. He didn’t know for sure until I killed the new family cat with crushed rat pellets. Since I didn’t see what happened with Mr. Eldridge, I wanted to see what it did to a body. When he came into my room and found the cat, he beat me with a belt until he broke it across my back and shipped me off to Russia. He thought Ivan would end up killing me because of my attitude. But my grandfather didn’t mind. He saw someone he could train and pass on his legacy since he’s just like me and Blu. I was made into who I am because my grandfather knew he couldn’t stop me from killing but wanted me to do what I do and get paid for it.”

“That’s … smart,” Ty mutters, probably because he doesn’t one hundred perfect agree with me slaughtering people. Not the innocent ones. “Where is he? Your grandfather?”

“Still in Russia. He’s semi-retired, only taking a few contracts a year. He’s over seventy. He hands some off to me, but for the most part, he passes on contracts. It’s not like he needs the money.”

The oven dings, and Ty gives me a quick kiss before he pulls the pans out. “I’m sorry that happened to you when you were a kid. Your parents shouldn’t have sent you away. They could have put you in therapy or something.”

“My father hated me, so I don’t think he cared that I wasn’t there. My mom did whatever he wanted, so she probably didn’t care either.”

“That’s awful. I might have been closer to my mom than my dad, but my dad and I still had a great relationship. He never would have treated me like that.”

After he puts the hot pans down, I pull him to me, kissing the back of his neck over and over until he starts giggling.

“Leo, stop, you weirdo.”

I smile against his skin, breathing him in and holding in his scent. “It’s okay,” I tell him, returning to his previous comment. “I think I would have been in prison or dead if it weren’t for Ivan. He gave me what I needed so I could remain free. I kill, but I’m smart about it. He passed on the tools necessary for me to survive. If my father hadn’t treated me the way he did, I wouldn’t have had that opportunity.”

“That’s the perfect way to look at it,” Ty says, turning his head to kiss my lips softly. “Now, let’s get these cupcakes and cookies and Danishes wrapped up. We have to take them to June before the end of the working day.”

One more kiss to his sweet-smelling skin and I let him go so we can get wrapping. We pack the cupcakes in their own personal boxes, not wanting the icing to get ruined by the plastic wrap. I find myself smiling as we pack everything up, especially when looking at the care Ty takes to make sure everything is arranged to his liking.

He’s making sure everything is as perfect as he is.

CHAPTER 12

TYSHAWN

We’re careful when we load up the trunk of everything we baked today. Leo was quite the sous chef, not minding taking orders from me, giving me these faint smiles when I stopped him from making a mistake. And there were a lot of mistakes. But I didn’t mind. It felt nice to have someone help me. Sam would occasionally if I needed extra hands, but that was very rare.

It was actually a lot of fun to having Leo in the kitchen with me. Even though I’m particular about how I do things and it would drive most people crazy, Leo took all of my instructions in stride, doing what I ask without complaint.

He also asked questions and didn’t mind if I gave him long-winded answers. Leo is unlike any man I’ve ever been with before. If he didn’t kill people for a living, he’d be the perfect guy.

What am I saying? He already is the perfect guy. Perfect for me. I’m not sure what that says about me, overlooking murder and all, but I’m only human.

The drive back to the city is spent with me singing loudly to the radio and Leo shooting me indulgent smiles. I love that he doesn’t try to change my weird. He leans into it, giving me the space to be me.

Ray’s Beanery is busy when we pull up, people coming in and out quickly. When we step inside, I have to dodge someone rushing to the counter to get their lunchtime fix. They almost bump into me, narrowly avoiding making me drop my cupcake boxes. Leo growls, but I lay my hand on his arm, hoping to convey he needs to calm down. He glances at me and gives me an imperceptible nod.

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