Page 38 of Scarred Souls

“Why not?”

“Because he’s…he’s…infuriating. And dangerous.” And because he made me want things I should never want from a man like him.

I could barely stand being in a room with him for five minutes without wanting to kiss him or kill him. How was I supposed to live with Vaughn? This was a disaster.

“Infuriating, you can tolerate. And sure, he’s dangerous, but not to you. If trouble comes to town, you want that on your side. No doubt about it, God sprinkled an extra dash of crazy when he made him, but that can be useful when it’s pointed in the direction of your enemies.”

“God didn’t make him.” I stabbed my finger toward Vaughn in the front yard. “That’s all the devil’s doing. And he used more than a sprinkle of crazy. Beelzebub unscrewed the lid of the shaker and let its entire contents out.”

“You told me how he handled those guys at Javi’s. He can protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting.”

“Vaughn thinks you do.”

“What are you? The grim reaper’s groupie?” Dee collected the remaining dirty mugs, and I followed her to the sink. “He’s unstable.”

“You’re saying that to someone who started a whole new life in another country because she had a breakdown and made crappy life choices.”

Daphne would never forgive herself because of her past. The licensing board had pulled her medical license when she’d made a mistake that had led to the death of a patient. A follow-up investigation had uncovered Dee’s opioid addiction and how she’d stolen from hospital supplies to feed it. There were no excuses for what she’d done, but the board had never asked how she’d become addicted in the first place. If they had, they’d have learned that she’d self-medicated to manage the daily trauma of her job. Had Daphne sought treatment, her medical career would’ve been over and the stigma of addiction with her for life.

I sighed. “You’re not an addict anymore.”

“Sure I am. I’m just an addict who’s keeping clean.” She tied her curly hair up in a messy ponytail. “Vaughn’s attitude is a front.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. This job he’s doing? Rescuing women from sex slavery and wiping out cartels? He’s not a bad person, which means he’s using all that snark to build a wall around himself.” She gave me a meaningful look. “He’s been through stuff.”

“What stuff? What did he tell you?”

“I don’t know exactly. He didn’t share details. But you’re stuck with him for now, so maybe you should try being civil and see if you can get him talking. I have a feeling he’ll be more inclined to open up to you than me.”

“I doubt it.”

For whatever reason, Dee and Vaughn had already bonded. If he didn’t elaborate with her, there was zero chance for me.

Daphne propped her hand on her hip. “You wanna know what I think?”

I matched her stance. “No.”

“You like him.”

“I loathe him.”

“You know what they say about hate and?—”

I held up my palm. “Don’t you dare utter another word about what I think of him.”

“This ought to be good,” said Vaughn.

Both of us turned as he dumped a heavy duffel bag on the floor. Crap. I’d been distracted and hadn’t noticed him approach.

Daphne sidled up to me. “Play nice,” she said in a low voice. “That one bites.”

I flicked my hair over my shoulder. “So do I.”

“Yeah, but I’ll bet he likes that.” She failed to hide her grin as she limped out of the kitchen. “Hope will show you to the casita.”

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