“He grabbed my arm, and he said he bought my wedding ring. He said that he picked it out for me.”
“Motherfucker.”
“I figured that was true. I understand. It’s not like you had time to go shopping. I would have figured it out myself eventually.”
“He still shouldn’t have told you that.”
“There are a lot of things he shouldn’t have said to me.”
“Come here.” Deklan pulls me close to him before leading me to the edge of the bed. We both sit, and he strokes the side of my face. “I would never let him touch you—you have to know that. I love you, and I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you, not even Sean.”
I want to believe him, but I’m not sure I can trust his words. When it comes right down to it, if Deklan has to make a choice, I’m not sure which way he will go.
“Please, Kera.” “I’ll keep you away from him,” Deklan says. “I swear I will. You will always be at my side, and you will never be alone with him again.”
“Do you think that will stop him?”
“Yes, I do.” He hugs me to his chest. “If it doesn’t, and he says something to you in front of me, I’ll take care of it.”
“What does that mean?”
“I will make it clear that I won’t put up with that.”
“He might not listen.”
“Let me worry about that if the time comes.”
“Maybe I should just stay away from the Foley place completely.”
“No, it will be easier for me if you are close by. Working for the family is a good thing for you, and Teagan approves. That’s important. Besides, you were right about needing a job. I can’t keep you locked up here under twenty-four hour guard even though it is tempting sometimes.”
I press my head to Deklan’s chest, finally letting myself be comforted by him. I want to believe everything he says. I need to believe it all. If I don’t, I’ll go as mad as Sean already is.
“Please don’t be angry with me.” Deklan runs his hand over my back.
“I’m not,” I say quietly. “Not really.”
“You’re scared.”
“Yes.”
“I am, too.”
I’m startled by this admission, and I lean back to look into his eyes. He is scared. I can see it all over his face as he strokes my cheek, but I don’t know if he’s scared for me or for himself—maybe both.
“I need you,” Deklan says. “Everything’s falling apart around me, and you’re the only thing I have left to hold onto that makes any sense.”
Chapter 35
Gentle rain patters on the pavement as Deklan and I enter the Foley mansion, wipe our feet, and head to the study. Teagan is waiting for me. She’s going to show me the rest of the accounting software today. As we work, Deklan, Sean, and Brian talk quietly off in the corner. I can’t hear them, and Deklan didn’t give me any idea why they are meeting today.
“The numbers here update another spreadsheet,” Teagan says. “I know it seems complicated, but once you figure out how they tie together, it will all make sense. It’s actually pretty easy to run the numbers when you need to.”
“It seems pretty straightforward,” I say. I flip from one spreadsheet to another. “I’d like to get a look at the backend database. I think I could learn faster if I did.”
“You fancy yourself a database girl?” Teagan smiles. She obviously loves her tech, and I think she appreciates having another technical person around. “I’ll give you access, but it will be read-only so you don’t have to worry about fucking it up.”
“Cool. I just want to look at the structure and relationships.”