Page 40 of Ruthless Salvation

Twin pools of earnest aqua stared at me. “I was watching.”

Watching me.

“You came from upstairs,” I noted.

“Saw him do it on the security cameras.”

He was watching the security cameras. Watching me. How often did he watch me like that? Should I have been upset? Maybe. But what mattered was how Iactuallyfelt, not how Ishouldhave felt. Maybe I was crazy, but all I could summon was intense relief. Somebody was looking out for me. I was safe. Wasn’tthatwhat counted?

I gnawed on my bottom lip before dipping my chin in a nod. “I’ll stay at Moxy, so long as I feel safe.”

Torin’s chest expanded with a deep breath, then exhaled what looked like years’ worth of tension. “Text me if you need anything.”

I watched him slip out the door and wondered how someone who seemed to verge on uncivilized half the time could also be so dang sweet. The question was complicated on a good day but damn near impossible to think about with a hangover.

I took one more long drink of water and nestled back under the covers, not waking again until after dark.

Present

“You took him to Perillus?That’s some seriousPulp Fictionshit. He won’t be able to sit for a week.” Oran’s tone was more contemplative than judgmental. That was his MO lately. The energy he exuded had simmered to an almost eerie calm.

“Well deserved, I’d say.”

“Mmm,” he hummed his agreement. “She doing okay?”

My jaw clenched involuntarily. “I assume so.” Stormy hadn’t contacted me, and I’d forced myself to give her space, but fuck if it wasn’t driving me crazy. I hated not knowing. “She’s back at work tonight. Should be downstairs soon if she’s not already.” That was the sole reason I’d shown up early. So early, I’d gone up to my office to kill time, where Oran had found me.

“Good, I’d like to talk to her about Darina. That’s why I stopped by. I figured I’d chat with anyone who might have been friendly with her.”

Tension coalesced in my muscles. I was such a fuckin’ nutjob where Stormy was concerned that I didn’t even like the thought of my cousin talking to her. He might have set aside his Prince Charming act for the moment, but I knew how women responded to him.

“Yeah, I suppose we might as well go down and get that out of the way.” I followed him out of the office, itching to see her.

I’d been hiding in my office Halloween night, convincing myself that it was best to let Stormy go, but after everything that had happened—after the things she’d said and how she’d looked at me—that ship left port and was long beyond the horizon.

Storm was going to be mine. End of discussion.

Oran talked to the bartender briefly. She and Darina hadn’t spent much time together, so she had little to offer. Jolly was at the bar and had an emergency contact number for Darina, but that was it. Two other girls said that despite being friends at work, the missing woman hadn’t told them much of anything about herself. By the time we finally got around to Stormy, the Friday evening rush had picked up.

“I know you only have a minute, but I wanted to ask you about Darina,” Oran said, speaking up over the music.

“Of course!” Stormy said brightly. “I hate that she’s still missing. You think she could have left on purpose?”

Oran and I exchanged a hard look. “No. Unfortunately, we have information that something terrible may have happened to her. She managed to cross paths with someone…” He cleared his throat. “Well, heartless doesn’t begin to describe them.”

Right before my eyes, Storm’s peaches and cream skin faded to a sickly white. “Hey, man. No need to upset her.”

Oran’s lips thinned. “I’m going to do what I can, but anything you might remember would be helpful.”

“Definitely.” Her brows knitted together. “Let me see … We didn’t exactly hang out, but I happened to run into her twice at the laundromat I use.”

“You live down by 21stStreet?”

“What?” Storm angled her head in confusion. “No. I’m right here just a couple of blocks from the club on 36th.”

Oran’s stare intensified. “She give you the impression she lived nearby?”

“Yeah, she lived somewhere right by me, but I didn’t ask which building. We talked about how she used a nail salon one block over that I’d wanted to check out.” Storm paused and glanced briefly at me. “Was her address not on her employment application?”