Page 48 of The Lair

He lets out a deep sigh. “There’s nothing wrong with the apartment.” A pause. “But I know who’s renting it, and he’s not someone you want to do business with.”

I frown. “Charlie didn’t say anything.”

And he would have. I’m sure his friend would’ve complained about his landlord if he was that bad.

Travis slides me a look. “It’s not men he has issues with.”

Oh.

I swallow, my gaze dropping to the pictures on my screen. I knew it was too good to be true.

“Do you think he won’t rent it to me because I’m a woman?”

It’s ridiculous, not to mention pathetic. I can’t believe some people still have such horrible mindsets. Cavemen, all of them, and not the good kind. Not the kind who throw you over a shoulder and?—

Focus.

Right. Now isnotthe time.

“I could go with you.”

Poker face, poker face, poker face.I’m not about to show him how those words have just made me lose the tight grip I keep on my feelings for him.

“Where?” I ask, because of course I do. Of course I have to make sure he knows I’m dumb.

But Travis doesn’t react with an eye roll or a huff. “To see the apartment.”

I shift on the couch and leave my empty plate on the coffee table. “Maybe I should cancel the whole thing. If you say he’s a misogynistic asshole…”

There’s the huff. “You can’t stay here.”

Now is my turn to let out a deep breath, my eyes focusing on the mold starting to eat at one of the ceiling corners in the living room. “I know, and I don’t want to. I want to move out, but not if my landlord is going to be some creepy guy who will raise my rent or give me a hard time because I have boobs.”

“No one’s gonna mess with you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’ll break his goddamn legs if he so much as thinks about it.”

I might have grown up with all sorts of privileges—a four-story home, yearly vacations to exotic places, quality food, access to prime healthcare, and the best schools, among other luxuries—but safety has never been one of them. My parents knew no boundaries. They sacrificed our privacy,myprivacy, for money and attention, and now…

Now there’s a weird feeling inside my chest, something Travis’s protectiveness has lit up.

I scan his face for a moment. “Would you really do that?”

Maybe I should be cautious. When an ex-Navy SEAL threatens to break someone’s legs, he probably knows how to do it. But Travis would never hurt me, and I could never be scared of him.

“In a heartbeat.”

This is the same man who said he didn’t befriend his co-workers not that long ago, and I shouldn’t forget that. He just doesn’t want to see me in danger—any good, reasonable person would feel the same.

I give him a genuine smile. “Thank you for offering to come with me, but I don’t want to be a bother.”

His chest goes in and out, and he relaxes against the cushions of my too-small couch. “If you were a bother, I wouldn’t be here.”

He has a point, but I’m still going to be a pain about this.

“You don’t have to come with me.” I don’t want him to feel pity or think I can’t handle my own stuff. “I’ve been living on my own for years. I know how to deal with difficult people.”

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