Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 110550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Long lunch tables filled the middle of the cafeteria and surrounding them were couches, beanbags, and a jukebox that made the room feel like a hangout. Polished floors gleamed. The paint was still fresh and unchipped. And a peek inside one of the rooms showed six single beds each with a trunk, bedside table, and lamp. The last shelter I stayed in packed twelve bunk beds in a room half the size, and there were no extras. Even if you didn’t have a home, Leighbridge proved it was the place to live.
“Looks like you have questions, mama,” Nathan said. He sidled up next to me with a tray of rolls.
“So many questions. Is the crew running this place?”
Nathan held his hands out proudly. “Running this location and living in the other two. You’re not the only one who traded up.”
“Apparently. This shelter is amazing. I’m almost afraid to ask how you got your hands on it.”
“No bribes, blackmail, or tricks.” River appeared in front of us, smiling that smile. “I promise.”
I couldn’t stop myself smiling back. “Guess I have to trust you, then.”
He jerked his head toward the exit. “Got a minute?”
“Sure?”
I handed my ladle off to Nathan. River met me at the entrance of the kitchen, holding out his hand. I wove my fingers through easily, following him out into the courtyard. It was no less nice out there than it was inside.
A small vegetable garden sat across from a flower garden, boasting reds, greens, yellows, and purples of the growing beauties both meant to feed our souls and our stomachs. Between was a cozy painted bench. We sat, looking out over the playground. There were no kids playing on it, but it wasn’t empty. A figure sat on top of the slide, gazing at the Cinco skyline.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Don’t apologize, River. You put aside your feelings for the Merchants and risked your life to save me and Laurel. The last thing you need to say is sorry.”
River didn’t speak for a long time. “I’m never what you need when you need me.”
“What? River.” I grasped his chin, turning him to me. “Why would you say that?”
“Because it’s true.” There was an odd note in his voice. Flat. Resigned. “When that trash Adams forced you onto the street, you joined our crew. But you couldn’t follow someone like me or condone the things I do, so you were forced to leave us too.”
My jaw worked. “No, I— It’s not that simple—”
“It was Sunny who got you off the streets, protected you, helped you get Laurel back. And it was me who led you out of safety and made you vulnerable to Coates’s attack.”
“That’s not true,” I cried. “If I wasn’t going out to meet you, I would’ve been heading out to Brocade, or swinging by the baby store, or a hundred other things. The guy was my driver and bodyguard, I was vulnerable from the day that monster took the bribe. You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“You don’t trust me,” he said, piercing my soul. “I can blame myself for that.”
I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to drop my gaze or hide the emotions swirling within. “I trust you to be there for me when I need you. I couldn’t say that about anyone other than Sienna for twenty years. That matters, River. It’s the only thing that matters now. The rest will come... when you trust me.”
His jaw clenched beneath my fingers as I voiced the true issue at the heart of our relationship. River lied, evaded, or danced around the truth of his past because he didn’t trust me yet. Maybe that should’ve hurt me, but it didn’t. The past is a dark, winding path haunted by your demons. No one wants to take you inside if all you’re destined to do is abandon them in the maze with one more regret.
River claimed my hand, dropping kisses on my fingertips. “Even though I’m not all the way there, I trust you more than I do anyone else. I hope that’s what matters now too.”
“It is,” I whispered. “But one thing... promise you won’t lie to me anymore. If you don’t want to talk about something or you can’t tell me, then say that and I’ll respect it. Just please don’t lie.” Laurel’s screams rang in my head, echoing over the orders of a man I once thought I loved, barking to rip her away from me. “You can’t fathom how sick to death I am of men lying to me.”
He cracked a mirthless grin. “I can guess, and I can promise. No more lies, Kenzie. I can give you that much.”
Sighing, I felt something tight and painful inside me finally begin to loosen. “I like this. You and me being real with each other. Let’s keep it up: how did you get your hands on this place and two other locations?”