Well, she may not want to accept help from me, but she needs some kind of protection. I pull out my phone and stare at the text from Thunder. He got back from his assignment last night and Hawthorne told him to stay in the area until he spoke with me. The guy slept at Rover’s place, so I definitely owe him one. I can imagine Rover living in some bare-bones apartment. Well, hell, just because I do doesn’t mean the other guys do.
It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Thunder is in town right now. I call him.
“Thunder,” he answers.
“Thunder, I need your help.”
CHAPTER21
Lucy
“Are you sure about this?”Connie asks as she sets a box down on the kitchen counter.
“I’m sure.” I take the box I’m carrying into the bedroom and work to hide the fact that, no, I’m not sure at all. But I need some space in order to think clearly.
Connie follows me into the bedroom and takes a seat on the bed. “What if he’s telling the truth, and he comes back ready to be with you?”
“Then we’ll date like normal people. I shouldn’t be living with him, it’s too much too fast. Besides, was he even going to tell me about his mission? He leaves in less than a week.”
I open the box I brought in and begin unpacking its contents into my dresser. Fortunately, I don’t have too much stuff, so we were able to move everything to the new apartment in only a few hours.
“Look, I’d never tell you what to do, but I’m happy you’re not staying with him anymore. You’re right. It was too much, too fast.”
I stop unpacking. “You still don’t trust him, do you?”
Connie takes a deep breath. “It’s not that. I’m just worried about you getting hurt again. Has he called since you walked away from him yesterday?”
“No. I know I asked for space, but I thought he’d at least text me.” I sink down to the ground.
Connie sits next to me and places her arm around my shoulders. “You want him to text you?”
I nod. “I want him to be open with me and tell me what is going on, but that’s not him. It never has been. Keeping things close to the chest is what he does. And the last time he did that, it nearly destroyed me. I can’t be left in the dark again.” That’s when the tears fall. I can’t hold any of it in any longer.
Connie gives me a squeeze. “Let’s go unpack a couple of wine glasses and open the bottle of wine Vince left you. Then after that, we will redo what you just did here.” She stands up and reaches for my hand.
Once she’s pulled me up so I’m standing, I glance into the drawer to see what she’s talking about. I unpacked my dish towels into my underwear drawer. Great. And I hadn’t even noticed.
I burst out laughing. “I’m a mess.”
“Yes, you are. But that’s okay.”
“Go ahead and open the wine. There’s one box left in my car I want to grab.”
Connie heads to the kitchen, and I go outside. There’s a chill in the air that makes me rub my arms as I run to my car. I grab the box and start my way back when I see a familiar man standing near my door.
My heart is racing. I take several deep breaths. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
Cody shoves his hands in his pockets. “I know you want space, and I’m trying to give that to you, but I don’t trust Vince. Remember my friend Thunder? You’ll get to meet him, if you want to. He’s going to watch your place during the nights. That way you won’t have to see me.”
I’m not sure what I’m the most upset about, finding Cody outside my door, or knowing he will leave soon.
“Oh. Someone is just going to stand out here?” That seems a little creepy.
“No, he’ll watch from a place where others won’t see him. But please, don’t let Vince inside. Okay?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose.Not this again.“If Vince were going to hurt me, he would have done it years ago. He’s had many opportunities, you know, since he’s my uncle and all.”
Cody steps into my space. “Tell me this, does he know you were cut off from your trust fund?”
