Dark Favors

“Anytime, Mr. Locke.”

“The forms are on my desk.”

“Understood.”

I hung up the phone and drove to her house. Correction: I drove to my house. I hadn’t expected to have someone like Paige renting from me. The fact that she was the girl I’d been looking for, and she was right under my nose, was ironic. That wasn’t lost on me. Her car was out front, so I parked and headed up to the porch. Before I could even knock, the door opened.

It wasn’t Paige, though.

It was her roommate, Fawn.

“She doesn’t want to see you,” Fawn said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Fawn, no offense, but this has nothing to do with you.”

“Offense taken,” she said, snapping at me. For a girl who couldn’t have been over five foot three, Fawn was a little scared when she was feisty. She was the type of woman who probably bit, I realized.

I took a step back.

“I need to talk to Paige.”

“No.”

“It’s important.”

“No.”

“I need to explain something to her.”

“Haven’t you done enough to her?” Fawn asked.

“We had a misunderstanding.”

“No,” Fawn shook her head. “I think you understood perfectly. I think you knew that you had a position of power, and you held that over your tenant. She also happens to be recently orphaned because her mom just died like, half a year ago.”

“I didn’t try to take advantage of her.”

“Yeah, you did try, and you did it,” Fawn said. “I know that you do a lot for Ruby City, and that’s great, and I realize that we have a landlord-tenant relationship, and that’s fine, but you fucked up when you decide

d to, what, take Paige under your wing?” She shook her head. “You got her hopes up, you fucker. She’s always wanted to know who her dad was, and you dangled that in front of her like a fucking carrot.”

I stared at Fawn. My mouth was dry because I knew she was right. Everything she’d said to me was true. I was a total piece of shit, and I didn’t deserve to see Paige. I didn’t deserve to talk to her. I didn’t deserve any of it, but I wanted her.

I wanted her.

“You ruined her dreams,” Fawn continued. “And you need to leave. I don’t want to see you here again.”

She slammed the door in my face, and then Fawn disappeared.

Fuck.

Chapter 19

Paige

Fawn appeared in the doorway to my room. There were dark circles under her eyes, as though the stress of dealing with me was finally getting to her. I felt bad for my roommate. She’d never been a bad companion. A lot of people had horror stories about the people they lived with, but not me. I’d always been able to count on her.

“Did you hear that?” She asked.