Page 28 of Ravaged By the Dark (The Righteous 2)
“I said give it back. It’s none of your business whether it is or isn’t.” Annoyingly, Arek crossed his arms and stared at her silently. Her body shook as she tried to hold in the bubbling emotion that was threatening to break free. “Fine! It’s not mine, but it looks like I have another fight on my hands.”
“I don’t understand.”
Renee sighed and flopped into one of the two kitchen chairs. She simply didn’t have the strength to argue with Arek on top of everything else.
“My mother’s name is Rosalind Renee. I was named after her. She took out this card in my name before she took off and maxed it out. Now I have to find a way to prove that it wasn’t me.” Her lower lip quivered. “I hate her so much right now,” Renee whispered. She looked up to Arek, and his features softened. He walked the short distance and sat down in the opposite chair.
“Let me help you,” he offered quietly.
“I’m not letting you pay this for me.” She shook her head no.
“I could do that too, but that’s not what I meant. My brother is a lawyer. Let me call him and see if he can help.”
“I couldn’t pay him.” She looked down to the table, unable to hold Arek’s warm and inviting expression.
“Renee, it would be free of charge. Let me call him, he might not be able to do anything, but wouldn’t that be better than owing a bunch of money on top of everything else you have going on? Besides, she could try it again. He could put some fail-safes in place to help make sure she can’t.”
She chewed on her lower lip as she weighed the pros and cons. She couldn’t take another hit like this. She just didn’t have the funds. Slowly she nodded, accepting she needed help. Some problems were bigger than what one person could handle alone.
“I’ll be right back.” Arek stood and walked outside but was only gone a minute and returned. “My brother is going to see what he can do and will call me back. Trust me. My brother is brilliant. If there is a way to get you out of this, he will find it.”
“Thank you.” She looked up to Arek, and her heart skipped and tripped over itself in her chest. “Why are you helping me? You barely know me.”
“Because no one deserves something like this happening to them, and I can help. And…” He lifted his shoulder. “I like you, and I want to help. And, if you let me, I’d like to help again.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“J.J. can you come in here?” Arek called out, and the sound of thudding feet echoed through the house as J.J. sprinted from the living room. “I was just asking your sister here if the two of you would like to go to the arcade I mentioned and then maybe get some pizza?”
“Really? Nae Nae, please, please, please, can we go?” J.J. gripped her arm and jumped up and down like a wild man. “Pretty please, we’ve never been!”
She couldn’t help but smile, the dark cloud slowly lifting. How could anyone remain upset looking into that sweet face?
“Alright, we will go.”
“Yes!”
“Go get changed. You can’t go in your PJs.” J.J. cheered as he ran out of the kitchen. He was like a miniature tornado that had swept through, making her giggle.
“This better not become a habit. You trying to buy my affections through J.J.?” she lifted her eyebrow at Arek.
Arek smiled wide. Her pulse pounded hard in her ears as she looked into those mischievous blue eyes. He placed his hands on his chest. “Me do something so devious? Never.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
Arek walked over and bent, placing a hand on either side of her chair. His intoxicating scent mixed with his earthy aftershave invaded her nose, making her head fuzzy with how near he was. She wanted to grab his shirt and drag him closer. He was wearing a different one from last night, but it didn’t matter, she wasn’t able to get enough.
“I don’t need to buy your affections. We both know there is something between us.” His face was directly in front of hers, and she held her breath, the thudding of her blood making it hard to focus on what he was saying. He laid a chaste kiss on her lips and stood just as J.J. ran back into the room.
If out-of-body experiences were real, she was having one right now. This amazingly sexy man couldn’t be real. Her luck didn’t run that way. She had a list a mile long of shit that had gone terribly wrong over her life.
“Come on, Nae Nae. You are holding us up!” J.J. grabbed her hand, dragging her out of her seat.
She wanted to enjoy this, she really did, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that her life was screwed up. The other shoe was bound to drop, and she was simply delaying the inevitable.
The three of them walked into the arcade, and every one of Renee’s senses was assaulted. Laser and strobe lights flashed to the music, and her stomach rumbled at the strong scent of fresh popcorn. Cold air blasted from large vents, making her shiver at the sudden temperature difference, and it was almost unbearably loud with the kids yelling, the music thumping, and the unique noises of the arcade.
“Wow,” J.J. yelled. He stood with his mouth open as wide as his eyes as he stared at the space around him. This had to be a kid’s dream come true. Kiddie crack was how she saw it. J.J. took off running through the throngs of people.
