Page 59 of Ruthless Redemption

She laughs. “What’s he like?”

I chance another glance at the man leaning against the white picket fence of a neighboring yard, his arms crossed over his chest. “He’s…” I frown, attempting to come up with a way to describe him. “I guess he’s a lot like the men you’ve grown up with.”

“Overprotective, grumpy, and always thinks he’s right?”

“That’s an apt description.” I turn back to her with a smile.

“And Matthew?” she asks. “What’s he like?”

I look away, wincing at the first word that comes to mind—perfect.

Perfect for me. Perfect for my insecurities. Perfect for my soul. If only the things I adored weren’t perfectly fictional.

“He’s the same.”

I sense her eyes narrowing in my periphery, her scrutiny potent. “Why can’t you admit you like him?”

Because his family killed your father.

“He’s just not the right man for me. We’re too different.” Or maybe the problem is that we’re exactly the same. Either way, there’s no escaping the red flags that accompany us being together.

“Different is good, isn’t it?”

“It can be. But there’s a lot more to it. You know we’re not like most people. We need to be careful with who we align ourselves.”

“And he’s not someone you should be aligning with?” She glances toward Bishop again, giving me the briefest reprieve.

I can’t keep distracting her from the truth. I don’t want to feed her more white lies. But…Goddamnit. I hate this. “He’s familiar with some of our enemies.”

“Familiar how?”

I turn to her. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, I promise. And his familiarity was only part of the issue. The real problem was that he hid it from me. He lied.”

She frowns. “Why would he do that?”

I don’t know… Because he’s cruel. Deceptive. A born liar. “It’s complicated.”

“Why do you always say that when you don’t want to give me the real answer? It’s so annoying. You treat me like I’m too young to be told stuff, but I’m not. I know a lot more than you think.”

“It’s usually a nicer way of saying I don’t want to talk about it, little fish.”

“Well Idowant to talk about it. If he’s a liar and familiar with our enemies, why am I here? Isn’t it dangerous?”

“No, not at all. You’re safe.He’ssafe.” I brush a hand through her hair. “I’m still working with him. I’m just no longer wanting to be in love with him.”

“So youwerein love?”

Goddamnit. “Stella, please.”

She grins. “I want you to be happy, Mom.”

“And I want you to stop asking questions, my sweet little pumpkin seed.”

She laughs. “I’m just trying to understand because you being in love is huge.”

“I don’t feel that way anymore,” I lie. “So can we please drop it?”

“But if you’re still working with him even though he knows our enemies, then your problem must be about him lying… and you lie to me all the time. If I can forgive and forget, why can’t you?”

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