Page 59 of Deserving Ryleigh
“Survived living with that asshole for so long.”
Ryleigh closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them as she said, “There was a lot of justifying his actions.And I didn’t have any friends, Tiny. Not one. No one to talk to. No one to tell me to get the hell out. No one to insist what he was doing was whacked. Most of the time he left me alone. I could surf the web, pretend my life was normal.”
“Until he ordered you to steal someone’s money.”
“Yeah,” Ryleigh agreed sadly. “I know I stayed too long. That someone looking in at my situation would be disgusted. Say that I was a grown woman, and that I must have enjoyed what I was doing at least a little, since I stayed as long as I did. But that wasn’t the case. Not at all.”
“I know. And everyone here knows it too. Has someone said something to you?” Tiny asked, getting irritated at just the thought of anyone belittling Ryleigh in that way. Especially when they knew nothing about her situation.
“No!” she exclaimed forcefully. “I just…sometimes I think this is all a dream. That I’m going to wake up and I’ll be back in some dingy apartment, hiding from my father.”
“You aren’t. You’re here, and you’re so loved by everyone. Just yesterday, Lara came up to me and wanted to know what she could to do help you. She feels bad because you’re taking the brunt of the shit from your father.”
“It’s okay,” Ryleigh said.
“It’snotokay. And we’re going to stop him, but it’s clear we’ll have to force his hand. Tell me the truth, though—do you really think he’s crazy enough to want to meet you in person? I mean, we probably need to come up with a secondary plan.”
But Ryleigh was already shaking her head. “He’ll do it. He’s conceited enough to think he can outsmart me. All ofus. I’m sure he’s aware that you guys are going to be around when we meet, but he thinks he’s smarter than everyone. But…what if we make him think he’s already won? That he’s broken us?Me?”
“What do you mean?” Tiny asked.
“What if we tell him that I’ll give him his money back if he agrees to meet with me? Like…maybe I want to beg him in person to leave me and all of my friends alone?”
“And?” Tiny asked, thinking that she was on to something.
“We’ll tell him that he can pick the meeting place. He’ll love that. Again, because he’ll think he can outsmart us. He’ll assume we’ll call the cops and FBI and whoever else, but he’ll still think he’s able to win—and my dad’sallabout winning. I just worry about any innocent people who might get caught up in all this.”
“You’re an innocent person too, you know,” Tiny said.
In response, Ryleigh shrugged.
“You are,” he insisted.
“I’m really not. I stole a lot of that money I ended up giving away. I was old enough to know better, and I did it anyway. Then I took it from my dad knowing he’d be pissed. That he’d want it back. And look what that led to. Tiny?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m scared.”
“Of your father?”
“Yes, but also scared of what he might do to you. To The Refuge. To our friends.”
“We aren’t going to let anything happen,” he said firmly. “If seven former special forces operatives can’tprotect one of their family members, there’s something really wrong.”
That earned Tiny a small chuckle. He was so proud of this woman. She’d had a hell of a life so far, and he was determined to make it better from here on out. He squeezed her nape, then leaned forward, resting his forehead on hers.
“Tiny?”
He smiled a bit as he lifted his head so he could look into her eyes. “Yeah?”
“I want you.”
He blinked in surprise. But she didn’t give him a chance to speak before she went on.
“I’m probably not going to be very good at first, but I’m a fast learner. The other day, when I told you that I was helping Tonka at the barn…I wasn’t. I went to town. To the women’s clinic. I’m sorry I lied to you but I was embarrassed to tell you what I wasreallydoing, which is stupid because I’m an adult, but still.”
She was babbling, and Tiny thought it was adorable.
