Page 48 of Web of Lies
Shaun and I exchange a look, then he nods and I take a deep breath. Larken is slowly collapsing over the forgotten cards she dropped on the table, her guttural, choking, weeping echoes off the walls. I slowly stand up and go to her side. I start out rubbing her back, but that isn't enough. I bend down and pick her up and carry her to the living room where I sit with her in the armchair. I rock her, making any kind of comforting sound I can think of until she finally exhausts herself and falls asleep in my arms.
I sit with her like that for a long time. At some point Shaun comes in and sits on the couch. He doesn't turn on the television. He doesn't take his eyes off of Larken. My left foot is numb but when I move a little to shift her weight on my lap to relieve it, she whimpers softly and clutches my shirt, so I wiggle my toes and sigh instead.
This is bad, very bad.
I shouldn't have taken this job.
I look down at her face and sigh again. Her nose and eyelids are a little swollen from crying and she has dark circles under her eyes. Her mouth is turned down in a frown, even in her sleep.
Well, I guess I'm going to kill the husband.
Keep her.
Get the damn dog.
“Soooo,” Shaun says quietly, “when are we going?”
I look up at him. He's got a little more amusement on his face than I do, but the anger and determination are just the same.
“We'll help her get herself back together first. Then we'll get the husband.”
Chapter Seventeen
Shaun
I'm not stupid enough to trick myself into believing that I'm in love, but I am stupid enough to allow myself to become invested. I'm definitely stupid enough to be pissed off. I can't remember the last time I was this goddamn mad.
That fuck has been playing her this entire time. I don't need to see proof that he's responsible for her father's death, I don't even want it. The fact that Wyatt's high-strung ass is ready to go to war is enough. I don't know Wyatt well, but sometimes you don't need to. He's one of those guys who figures something out and then takes action without looking back. He's going to do terrible, terrible things to Larken's husband, and I'm going to help him.
No, I'm not in love with Larken. Not yet anyway. I might end up loving her, but right now I just want her to be okay. She needs to be loved. She needs it more than anything else. Wyatt obviously doesn't realize it yet because he's dumber than I am, but he's on his way to loving her. It's wild. It's like when I met Darcy I met Darcy when I was seventeen. I fell hard for her. I was head over heels in love with her within an hour. Sometimes your heart just knows. It happens like that. Everyone said it was just a crush, but it wasn't. You don't grieve like I did over a crush. When Darcy left, part of me died and I think that's why I am the way I am now. Some people get bitter about it. They get mean and jaded. Not me. I can see love from miles away and I'll do anything I can to see it win.
Wyatt might not love Larken yet, but it's there. It just needs time. And after we get rid of the husband, he'll have plenty of it. If he needs a little nudge along the way, well, I'm good at shoving.
I know Wyatt has more questions for her. He's a thinker. A planner. He needs all the information so he can calculate a plan. I don't think Larken would have had any trouble spilling her guts to begin with, but now she's going to be a wealth of information. I'm sure part of that information will lead to us getting paid for a job that stopped being a job, too.
The phone rings, startling Wyatt and making Larken's entire body jerk almost off of his lap. He motions for her to still and digs into his pocket for his phone.
“Yes?” he answers on speaker.
“Is she still alive?” The husband sounds all kinds of upset.
“Obviously.”
“I'll get your money.”
“Mmhmm.”
“I'll bring it tomorrow. I'll meet you anywhere. Just give me an address.”
Larken opens her mouth to say something, but Wyatt shakes his head and shushes her. “Tomorrow. Cash. I'll send the address for the drop. Be there within an hour of my text,” he says. “Oh, and if you aren't alone, if you're followed, you won't be getting her back.” Then he hangs up.
Larken jumps away from Wyatt and starts backing for the door. “I'm not going back.”
“Calm down,” Wyatt orders. Idiot. Telling someone to calm down never gets them to calm down and Larken is no different.
She turns and rushes the rest of the way to the front door, but I'm fast and I'm up and pressing my weight against the door just as she twists the knob. “I'm not going back,” she hisses through her teeth. “I won't.”
“Nobody's sending you back, baby,” I say. “Let's go sit back down. You can sit with me if you want to. I won't bite unless you ask me to.”
