Page 81 of An Indecent Longing

A lie of omission is still a lie.

She’d heard the phrase in middle school right about the time she’d found out what her dad did for a living and that she could never tell anyone who her father was.

She’d been old enough to understand…and young enough and idealistic enough to challenge her dad about it.

But she’d quickly learned how much better off she’d been than Risa. The taunting and the teasing and the outright threats. If Dorrie had a backbone of steel, Risa had a backbone of titanium. Her sister had learned to deal with everything with a haughty stare and a sharp tongue.

Dorrie had dealt by putting up a wall between herself and the outside world.

You really need to call your dad. Tell him what happened.

And she would. Tomorrow morning. Tonight, she’d let these two men make her feel safe.

After getting the rest of her stuff together, she grabbed her bags and headed back to the living room where Ian and Ben were talking low enough that she couldn’t hear them. Ben realized almost immediately that she’d returned and flashed Ian a look. Ian turned and they both moved toward her.

Without a word, they took the bags from her.

“You ready?”

Ian sounded calm but it felt forced and it rubbed her the wrong way. She had to bite her tongue not to goad him into his usual, tightly strung self.

Was it weird that that was one of the things she liked about him?

Probably.

Definitely.

Nodding, she looked at Ben, who flashed her a smile. “Then let’s go. It’s late and we could all use some sleep.”

He turned and headed for the door, and when she glanced at Ian again, he nodded, indicating she follow Ben. Leaving Ian to watch her back.

She felt safe. Taken care of. And she was headed back to their home.

Which you ran from earlier tonight.

Yeah, probably best not to think about that now or that panic attack she’d managed to stave off earlier would make a return.

Ben and Ian hustled her through the lobby, to the raised eyebrows of the night guard. She didn’t care what he thought of her, didn’t care if he judged her. But she did worry that he might call her father.

So she made sure to smile as she passed and made sure her smile included him in her sly secret.

Ian walked with them to Ben’s car and made sure Ben had started the car and pulled away from the curb before he moved toward his.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, hoping she wasn’t making a horrible mistake.

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