Page 13 of Deserving Ryleigh
She’d said it herself, she didn’t feel as if shecouldleave now, because whoever was out there knew how important The Refuge was to her. That alone told Tiny that she was a good person. Anyone else would’ve fled long before now to save their own skin. But not Ryleigh.
He felt horrible for the way he’d treated her. As if she was a criminal. Someone who had to be watched twenty-four/seven. And all along, she’d had nothing but the best of intentions for his friends and his home.
Did she still break the law with the things she did online? Undoubtably, yes. But now that he thought about it, Tiny wondered what else she’d done to help The Refuge. She’d all but admitted there was more the other night, when she’d blurted out those things she probably never meant to say. Something about how she hadn’t worked so hard to make the place prosper, only to see it get hurt now.
The thought that Ryleigh could be a modern-day Robin Hood made him even more ashamed. Not that The Refuge needed charity, they were definitely doing all right. But even as he had the thought, Tiny had to admit that the last year had been their best yet. They’d expanded, bought a helicopter, had more business than they could handle…he had to wonder if that was at least partly due to Ryleigh and her computer skills.
The doors to the small hospital opened automatically as Tiny approached, but he barely noticed as he took a deep breath as soon as he was outside. He headed for a bench situated in a small green space near the entrance, and sat. He leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees as he stared at the ground.
Thoughts swirled through his head. Everything he’d heard Ryleigh telling Henley, things that had happened at The Refuge over the last several months, things he’d said to Ryleigh, knowing they would hurt her.
He’d been such an ass. He’d be the first to admit that. But Ryleigh had gotten under his skin even before they knew who she really was…and he didn’t like it. So he’d used her admission as an excuse to distance himself. To bolster the shields he kept around his heart.
As brave as Ryleigh was—she’d been willing to go toe-to-toe with akiller, for God’s sake—she was also reckless in a lot of ways. And naïve…
It hadn’t escaped Tiny’s notice that she liked him. The side glances, the way her cheeks heated when he caught her staring at him. But that wasbefore.
Before she’d admitted she’d been lying to everyone.
Since then, there’d been no more glances. No more blushing. Just a lot of wary expressions, a lot of nervousness,and as much avoidance as she could manage. Which wasn’t much, considering he rarely let her out of his sight. But she hadn’t left. She’d stayed to do whatever she could to help find Owl, Lara, and Stone. And when Lara and Owl had returned, she’d continued to take whatever Tiny dished out, because Stone was still missing. And she’d worked tirelessly to help find him.
Tiny sat back on the wooden bench and stared into space, remembering the past. Another woman who’d lied to him. But Sonja hadn’t been anything like Ryleigh, who wore her every emotion on her face. No. Sonja was an amazing actress. Sure hadhimfooled. He’d thought they were soul mates. The day she’d accepted his proposal had been the happiest day of his life. Didn’t have the slightest doubt of her love for him. He’d gone on missions secure in the knowledge that his fiancée was waiting for him at home, as worried about him as he was her.
The reality would make an excellent true crime show. Betrayal, a lover’s triangle, a fiancée who secretly hated her soon-to-be husband. Who didn’t want to be a Navy wife. She’d convinced her lover that Tiny was abusing her. That he’d never let her go. She’d claimed she was scared of him…and that the only way they could be together was to kill him.
And the stupid kid bought her lies hook, line, and sinker.
Then again, Tiny’d had no idea she was anything other than the loving fiancée who’d seemed so happy to see him every time he’d returned from a dangerous mission.
She and her lover were so dumb, even if they’d succeeded in killing him while he slept, they wouldn’t have gotten away with it. The texts they’d sent back and forth,the internet searches she’d done, the receipts from the hotel trysts…they would’ve been caught within days of his death.
But they’d failed to kill him, obviously. Sonja had plunged a knife into his chest and miraculously missed hitting anything vital—like his heart, which she’d been aiming for.
The fight afterward had been swift, brutal, and over very quickly. Tiny had knocked out his fiancée with one punch, and it didn’t take much more to subdue her lover, who’d been waiting next to the bed to help finish him off after she’d made the first strike.
But now that he’d had some time and distance, and he was actually allowing himself to think about what had happened, Tiny realized he was more embarrassed that he hadn’t known his fiancée was cheating on him and plotting his death, than hurting over her betrayal. If she’d broken things off with him to be with that other man, he wouldn’t have been happy, but he would’ve let her go. Would’ve moved on fairly quickly.
Instead, she’d left him with the inability to trust. He hadn’t slept next to a woman since that night. Hadn’t trusted anyone enough to be that vulnerable again.
Yes, Ryleigh slept in his house, but always in another room, and his door was always closed. He’d been a light sleeper all his life, but he was even more so now. The smallest creak of the floorboards had his eyes flying open and Tiny racing out of his bedroom to see what Ryleigh was doing. She was always surprised by his appearance. No matter how quiet she tried to be, he still heard her.
Sonja had done that to him, and he resented her for it.
She and her lover were still behind bars, but theywouldn’t be forever. He’d vowed to be there for every one of their parole hearings, to make sure they stayed locked up for as long as possible. But now that he was settled at The Refuge…he found his need for revenge had dried up, at least.
Besides, he had something more important to concentrate on now.
Ryleigh.
Did he trust her? No, not really. But now that he understood there was more behind her actions than duplicitous intentions, Tiny found himself notquiteas distrustful as he used to be.
“Everything okay?” Tonka asked as he approached the hospital. He had a fast-food bag in one hand and was holding Jasna’s hand with the other.
“Yeah,” Tiny said as he stood.
“Ry still in there talking with Henley?”
Tiny nodded.
