Page 30 of The Saint (Gentlemen Rogues 3)
I licked my lips and shifted from foot to foot. "My flat, I guess."
"And where's your flat?"
"In Ealing, near uni."
"You can't go back there. Not now, and probably not for a while. Do you have a flatmate or something? Someone who will worry about you?"
I shook my head. "No, and I already scrubbed my place."
He frowned. "What do you mean,scrubbedit?"
"It's a long story, but no one who goes looking for me there will find anything about me."
He nodded slowly. "Stay here. Stay off the streets. You need a place to lie low for a moment, and we have to figure out who the fuck is chasing you, and obviously they’re not looking for you to have a nice, safe chat. For now, you lay low. Do you work?"
I frowned at him. "I'm a university student. I work at a subsidy shelter called The Ealing Center."
He nodded. "Call them and tell them you're not going to be in for a couple of weeks.”
“They need me,” I sputtered.
“They’ll have to do without you for a while.”
I wanted to argue, but he was right. I was in over my head and I needed a moment to think.
"I was wrong about you, okay? I can admit that.”
His grin flashed, and my knickers threatened to disintegrate. “You’re a charitable woman. Any idea why people are chasing you? Anything you can think of?”
My brain ran it all over. This all started when I approached Connor. "That bloke Connor, he knew my mother. He was the last person to see her alive. Before I approached him to talk, I was completely normal. Nobody shot at me, not a single car chase. Everything changed after we spoke at the bar.”
His brow furrowed. "Is there a reason you might be a threat to them?"
"I'm just a girl looking for her mum."
His voice was soft when he asked, "When was the last time you saw her?"
"Five years ago."
"Kaya…” His voice trailed off, and I could hear his disbelief and reluctance. I could almost hear him say ‘Five years is a long time.’
I shook my head. I knew what he was going to say, what most people said when I told them the first time. The same thing they'd said back then when I'd asked the police if they were looking for her.
"I know it's been five years, but if he can tell me something, anything, I want to know."
"You need to be careful."
"You don't think I know that? I was being careful. Besides, how was I to know Mum wasn’t making it all up the whole time?" I uncapped the bottle and sat on his couch, staring down at the floor as all the tension poured out of me. “When I was a kid, I believed everything she said. But then once I was in the foster care system after she disappeared, I wondered if she was just mentally ill. Unable to hold down a job and maybe that’s why we moved all the time. Every place we went she always seemed to know the shady characters. Someone to get us new ID and someone to get her an under-the-table job. She lived in fear, always diligent against an invisible boogeyman. I just thought maybe she made it up. But now…" I let my voice trail off. "Now I can see that she was telling the truth all along."
Saint sighed. He walked over to the entertainment center and grabbed the remote, turning the TV on before he handed it to me. “Try to relax, watch some television, and raid the pantry. I need to go into the office again and sort a few things out.Housekeeping doesn't come until tomorrow, so no one should be here throughout the day. Don’t answer the door for anyone. If you need anything, pick up the phone on the wall and it goes straight to Nigel at the front door. I'll let him know to get you anything you need."
"I'll need my backpack and suitcase.”
“And pray tell, where might I find those for you?”
I winced. “Um, in the supply closet at your company."
To his credit, all he did was lift a brow. "Right. When I come back later tonight, we're going to have a conversation, Sprite. You will let me know all about how and why you thought breaking into All Saints Tech was a good idea."
