Page 66 of Run Little Killer
"You okay, little killer?" I ask, sinking down beside her and draping an arm around her shoulders.
"I will be," she whispers, blowing out a slow breath and curling into my side.
We need to talk about what happened– what'sbeenhappening, since we aren't as out of touch with reality as Lennon thinks– but I'll wait for Rhett to enlighten her. He's better at all this emotional shit anyways. For now, I'll just hold her.
"Why were you guys headed back into town?” she asks, tilting her head up.
Her chin rests on my chest, my fingers tracing up and down her bicep as I meet her gaze and murmur, "Realized we forgot something."
Reaching down, I stroke Lennon's dark hair away from her face, a blush creeping across her creamy skin. Her brows furrow, teeth pinning her bottom lip in place as her eyes track over my face.
"You might not feel that way after what I have to tell you," she says, her voice trailing off.
The door to our motel room swings open before I can respond, Rhett striding in.
"That's done, how are things here?" he asks, tossing his duffle onto the bed while flickering a concerned glance in Lennon’s direction.
"Lennon's got something she needs to tell us," I say.
"That so, darlin'?" Rhett drawls, toeing off his boots and lowering himself to the mattress of the other bed across from us.
"I just think you deserve to know how messy my shit is before we go any further," she mutters, taking a deep breath and sitting upright.
"Go on, little killer, try and scare us away," I urge, smirking.
Lennon wrings her hands in her lap as she gathers her thoughts, then proceeds to tell us everything. She tells us about the bar she worked at, her creepy ass boss, and the night everything went to shit. The assault, the lies that the cops were told. How no one would listen to her and even her own family cast her away.
We already know most of the story from the news, but that doesn't make me any less murderous as she recounts what she went through before we picked her up.
The way they treated her at Briarwood, how the orderlyshe killed to escape was assaulting female patients, and why she had to get out and return to Englewood, seeking the justice she was denied by the courts.
She darts a nervous glance between us as she finishes, waiting with bated breath for our reaction.
Rhett's the first to break the silence, his voice more tender than I've ever heard as he says, "We know darlin'."
"Y-you do?" she stammers, looking back at me. "How?"
"Saw a news article about you, recognized your face," I reply with a shrug.
"God, why didn’t you say anything?” she croaks. “Ditch me or turn me in?"
"Figured if you wanted us to know, you'd tell us," I say.
"Also did some digging and found that until about a year ago, your record was squeaky clean," Rhett adds.
"You ran a background check on me?" she asks, seemingly shocked.
"Of course we did darlin'," Rhett smirks. "We don't just let any stray bitches come along for a ride."
Her lips purse together as she fights off a smile. "You weren't worried I was some deranged lunatic?"
"Oh, we know you are," I laugh. "But that tight cunt of yours helped balance the pros and cons."
She scoffs, slapping the back of her hand against my chest.
"Some things are just worth risking it all for,” Rhett chimes in, ever the gentleman.
Smooth talking bastard.
