Page 4 of Break Me
One
Present
I watchRiley slip into the pool, going over the side instead of using the stairs, as if she was made for the water. She doesn’t need to acclimate to the cold. She sinks down gracefully, until her head is covered.
She waits.
From the interior of the condo, behind a pane of glass, I wait.
She doesn’t know I’m here.
She refuses to swim in the heated indoor pool, and as I watch her, I think I know why. When she comes up, long, light brown hair dripping down her back, she turns in every direction.
It’s Monday morning and the place is empty, save for an elderly woman streaked with white sunscreen reading a magazine.
And me, in the foyer of the pool entrance, watching behind a window.
Riley’s eyes come to rest on me, and her lips part. She’s surprised. But I’m glad she found me. It means she’s paying attention. In the indoor pool, it would’ve been too late. The pool room is too small. If Rolland had been in there, if he had slipped in without her noticing while her head was under...
I clench my fists as I think about him.
But it doesn’t matter.
She’s at the outdoor pool, plenty of space to run. And there’s a guard, too, at the gate. I can’t see him from this angle, but I know he’s there. He’s armed. I know because Caden and I asked before we bought three units at this place.
It’s been three weeks since Caden let his dad live when he should have killed him. Three weeks since Rolland left his house in Toronto. Three weeks and no one knows where the fuck he is.
For a moment, Riley watches me. I watch her. After her initial surprise, she gives nothing away. Caden left earlier this morning, a flight back to Toronto. Riley has a couple of classes starting at noon, and then she works a shift at the gym. Caden wanted her to quit, but she refused.
I’ve spoken to Caden every day, seen them both a few times a week. But now, I’m on duty. This week Caden is back in Haven for SVE. I’m here watching after her.
We didn’t discuss how this would go. Or rather, she and I didn’t. Caden had plenty to say in private, when it was just me and him. But Riley hasn’t mentioned it to me.
I think she’s a little scared of me.
Which is good. Because she should be.
She makes a move first. She turns her back on me, and my eyes dip down to the small of her back, the slight swell of her hips. She’s still thin, but she’s had more to eat these past three weeks than she’s probably had this whole year. Her mother is a pitiful excuse for a human being, and Riley was feeding them both with what little she had.
Rolland Virani couldn’t even make sure she didn’t starve while he kept her on a leash.
She dives back under water and I see her tan skin and black swimsuit race beneath it. At the far end of the pool, she comes back up for air, angling her chin up, rubbing her eyes, her lips parted.
She doesn’t even glance my way again when she’s up. Little brat.
I push the door open, welcome the hot North Carolina sun at my back. Back home, it’s cooling down. I packed my shit two nights ago, what little I wanted to bring, and the mornings were already brisk even though it’s only August.
No such briskness here. I can’t say I’ll hate my time in the south.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” I call to Riley, standing at the edge of the pool, opposite her. I pull my shades over my eyes, slip my hands into my pockets.
Riley frowns at me, treading water at the deep end. She glances at the old woman who is either ignoring us or literally can’t hear us.
I know what Riley’s thinking. She’s thinking I should keep my voice down. She’s thinking of telling me I don’t own her. She’s thinking I should fuck off.
But she says none of those things. Instead, she tilts her head, her green eyes vivid in the summer sun.
“You shouldn’t wear all black to a pool.”
