Page 75 of Keeper
I stopped in my tracks. “Are you threatening me?”
“You’re a smart cookie. You can figure it out.”
And with that, she disappeared inside her apartment and slammed the door shut.
27
Tanner
I’d only just gotten home and taken Cujo outside when Ainsley called to ask if I was home. Eager to see her, I told her to come right over. A few minutes later, a light knock sent Cujo racing and yapping at the door.
I excitedly yanked the door open, but I knew something was wrong when I saw her. She stepped in uncertainly, her brow heavy and her eyes filled with sadness.
“How’d it go?” I asked, fearing I already knew the answer.
“Not good,” she stammered as Cujo ran happy circles around her ankles.
I grumbled. “Damn. Tell me what happened.”
“She threatened me, Tanner. She actuallythreatenedme.”
“With what?”
“I don’t even know. That’s the scariest part.”
“She’s just lashing out. I mean, what can she really do?”
Ainsley gulped. “She’s famous on the internet, Tanner.”
“Internet famous.” I laughed. “So what’s she going to do? Send a bunch of online goons at you?”
“I mean …yeah,she might.”
“Okay, hold on,” I said. “Start from the beginning. What happened after you left me?”
“I told her the truth.” She gave a futile shrug of her shoulders. “But she didn’t believe me. She thinks I purposely went out and ‘stole’ you the night we met. We got into a huge fight because of it.”
“Hey. I’m sorry.” I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tightly against me. In the comfort of my arms, she began to tremble, and I knew she’d started to cry. “It’s okay, babe. Talk to me.”
“I—I think I made a mistake,” she said, her voice wavering.
“What do you mean?”
“When I left, she wanted to know if I was coming over here. I shouldn’t have said anything, but I was sostupid,because I told her I was. I knew it’d only make things worse, butugh, I did it anyway because she’d gotten under my skin and it was my way of lashing out …”
“She doesn’t have any right to be mad about that.”
“But sheis, Tanner.”
“If a friend gets pissed at you for telling them the truth, they weren’t much of a friend to begin with.”
“I know, I know. But you make it sound so black and white. And it’s just not that easy …”
She began to pull away from me, trying to escape my arms.
“I shouldn’t be here,” she said, choking back her tears. “I should go home.”
“No,” I said, squeezing her tighter. “I wantyou here.”
