Page 27 of Ravaged By the Dark (The Righteous 2)
Renee sat at the kitchen table, going over the monthly bills. She ran her hand through her hair, trying to tame the unruly mess, but finally gave up. Nothing wanted to go right lately. Her paycheck didn’t go into her account on time, so the mortgage bounced, but she finally got that sorted out and paid when the water was shut off. She wished that just for a little while that she didn’t have to adult, didn’t have to worry and look after everything all the time.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the next envelope, but her mind drifted back to last night. She smiled as her body remembered all too well what it felt like to be touched by Arek. The sweet day at the pier and the sexy looks that could set her panties on fire, and that was all before he melted her heart with the way he treated J.J.
“Nae Nae, my car is broken.”
Renee gave a start as she jerked out of her fantasy and looked down at J.J.
“I’m sorry, what?” He held out his car that was now missing the two front tires. She took the car and the other piece from his hand and tried to get it snapped back together, but it just didn’t want to go in. “I’m going to have to glue it. Can you play with another for now?”
“But I want to play with that one,” he said. His lip jutted out, and she knew he was setting himself up for a fit.
“I know you do, and we will get it fixed, but it won’t stay without glue. See?” She demonstrated that it wouldn’t push in and stay.
“Fine!” J.J. yelled at her and stormed out of the kitchen.
Apparently, her sore mood was contagious. A knock sounded at the door, and her heart lurched in her chest. She looked around the kitchen and jumped to grab the large butcher knife because no one ever came to visit her.
“Arek’s here! Arek’s here!” J.J. screamed and ran for the door.
Renee slumped against the counter, her initial fear fading and with it the adrenaline that had spurred her into action. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Tyson was hiding in every corner.
J.J. stood on the bottom step and unlocked the door only to throw it open with a bang, and she winced as the handle made a dent in the drywall.
Great, something else to fix.
“Arek!” J.J. launched himself at Arek, and for a moment, she thought the two of them were going to roll ass-over-tea-kettle backward off the small landing.
“Wow, that’s quite the greeting, bud.” Arek laughed as he scooped J.J. up. “I’m not so sure your sister is as happy to see me.” He looked at her hand, and she lifted it, only then remembering the butcher’s knife. Blushing, she turned and put it away.
“We don’t tend to get visitors,” she said, hoping her explanation was good enough.
“Better to be safe.”
“Can you fix my car? Nae Nae not good at it.”
Renee rolled her eyes at her brother’s back.
“It needs glue,” she tried, butthe menignored her.
“Let me see it,” Arek said, sitting J.J. down. J.J. pointed to the car on the table, and she smiled smugly as Arek picked up the pieces. “I had one of these a long time ago.”
He knelt down to J.J.’s height and held out the car.
“You see this?” J.J. watched, his eyes focused, listening to Arek’s every word. “The little lock needs to move that way first, and then you can snap it in.” A soft click noise reached her ears as her jaw fell open. “There you go.” Arek handed back the toy, and J.J. cheered as he ran out of the room.
She crossed her arms, internally fuming. Now she wanted to yell and scream and throw a fit. Tears welled in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away, but not fast enough for Arek not to notice.
His hands gripped her shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “Are you okay? I didn’t have to fix the toy.”
“It’s not the toy.” She sighed. “It has been a tough morning.” Renee stepped away from his comforting touch. She couldn’t depend on someone else to fix her issues. She needed to stay strong. Flustered, Renee tried to pick up the rest of the mail quickly, and in her haste to cover up the embarrassing bills, the credit card statement that just came in floated to the floor.
Arek grabbed it before she could. “What’s this?”
She made to grab at the paper, but he kept it from her reach.
“It’s a credit card statement.” Her embarrassment was making her angry. “Give it back.”
Arek stared at the page, his eyes going wide. “Forty thousand dollars? Is this yours, Renee?”
