Page 16 of Bad Guys Need Love Too

Protect. Friend.

Yeah. There was definitely more to Ren’s story.

And she would figure it out. Ofthat,she was certain.

“I need clothes. Women’s stuff. Maybe, like, a couple weeks’ worth.”

There was a loaded pause on the other end of the phone before Tenley said, “I always thought you’d look super cute in a nice little sundress. But finding your size won’t be easy.”

Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. Damn it. He’d walked right into that one. If given the opportunity, Tenley wouldalwayschoose snark. On a typical day, Ren appreciated that about her.

But this wasnota typical day.

“The clothes aren’t for me,” he explained patiently. “They’re for Lark.”

Another pause on her end. “Ren…did you…kidnapLark?”

Hearing thekword out loud like that was jarring. “Technically, yes. But I didn’t have a choice.”

He gave her the quick rundown of everything that had happened, including the fact that Lark was with him of her own free will. Kind of. Mostly.

When he’d spilled the relevant highlights for her, Tenley whistled. “Wow. And I thought I was hard to keep out of trouble. Lark has me beat by a mile.”

Which wasn’t true at all. Lark was only causing him trouble now. Tenley had been giving him headaches foryears.

They’d both been scrawny, neglected foster kids when Ren met Tenley. She’d forced her way into his life by saving him from a bunch of bullies who’d been trying to stuff him into his locker (he didn’t hit a growth spurt until high school, ok?), and no matter how hard he tried to keep her at a distance, she refused and became the only person in the world to know the real him. More importantly, she knew he was a distrustful, paranoid, socially stunted, reclusive asshole and accepted all that about him.

So, he’d been watching out for her and helping her commit whatever crimes she felt like committing ever since. The amount of help she needed had changed some since she met and married her husband, Knox, but he watched out for her, nonetheless.

Ren used to consider Tenley his only friend. But after all this time, she was more like a sister. She definitely annoyed him as much as a sister would.

But telling Tenley she was a pain in the ass to protect didn’t suit his current purpose, so he kept that info to himself. “Can you get her some clothes and stuff, or not? I could go into town while she’s sleeping, but me buying a bunch of women’s clothes is bound to throw up red flags on someone’s radar.”

Tenley snorted. “Of course, I’ll get the clothes. But you’re kidding yourself if you think yourpurchaseswould be what was throwing up red flags. You look like a Bond villain on agoodday.”

Normally, that kind of statement wouldn’t bother him. It was true, after all. He was big and rough looking. He’d used that to his advantage for as long as he could remember. But now, with Lark in the next room, he didn’t want to be judged based on his appearance. He didn’t want her to look at him and see a Bond villain.

He wanted her to see someone she could love.

Which was ridiculous. He knew that. Someone like Lark could never love someone like him. She was sunshine and rainbows. He was…thunderstorms and starless nights. Not exactly a match made in heaven.

And none of that made him stop thinking about her in his bed, wearing his clothes, snuggled up to his dog. Like she belonged there.

“Do you know her style preferences and sizes? Or am I winging it?”

He rattled off her height, weight, and a quick description of her typical wardrobe as easily as he’d rattle off his own stats.

“Alrighty-y then,” Tenley said after yet another long pause. “Just out of curiosity…do you know my height and weight?”

Ren thought for a minute. Short-ish? Curvy-ish? “Umm…no.”

“Yeah. That’s what I thought. Look, I know we don’t talk about our feelings and stuff.”

He was kind of nauseated at the thought. “Thank Christ for that.”

“But I feel like I have to say…be careful, OK?”

“I’m always careful.”

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