He shrugged, and Pixie grumbled when the motion disturbed her. “Don’t know. I didn’t ask, and I didn’t mention it. But people have eyes in their faces. At the very least, Kat would have noticed.”
“Oh.”
“Please sit down,” he said, hating how she seemed to hover uncomfortably over him. She glanced around, then perched on the edge of a stool with her feet on the ground, like she was preparing to run. “Was Seeley James the man who hurt you?”
“No.”
The tension drained from him. He hadn’t realized how wound up he’d been until now. He tried to speak, but his throat sounded like a rusty gear, so he swallowed and tried again.
“Okay. Good.”
He still wanted to kick the shit out of whoeverhadput that glimmer of fear in her eyes. Was it the man in the photograph? Had he been her boyfriend? Husband? He checked her left hand but there was no pale band of skin to suggest that she usually wore a wedding ring. Why did that please him? It shouldn’t make a damn bit of difference.
“Here’s the thing,” he said. “You’re not leaving. You’re safe at Sanctuary.”
Her bottom lip quivered and she hauled in a deep breath, drumming her fingers on her knee. Her eyes had a glossy sheen. “Why do you even care?”
“I can’t stand the thought of you out in the world by yourself. I know you’re not telling me everything, but I don’t want to wake up in the morning and wonder what happened to you.”
“Really?” Her entire face crumpled, and then she was sobbing. Body-wrenching sobs, with tears streaming down her cheeks and her nose turning pink. Tione didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t hug her—that would either hurt her or freak her out—but he’d never been the kind of guy who was good with words. In the end, he reached over and patted her knee.
* * *
Megan didn’t meanto cry, but these days it seemed like all it took was a kind word for the tears to flow. Ridiculous that she could handle being yelled at and slapped around, but simple human kindness turned her inside out. Tione’s big hand landed on her knee, imparting warmth. She waited for the fear to follow, but all she felt was comfort. He’d shown that he didn’t mean her any harm. At least, it seemed that way to her, although God knew her judgment was flawed.
Sniffling, she watched him surreptitiously. He was big and gruff. Not at all the type of man she was accustomed to, and she could scarcely believe he wasn’t leaping at the opportunity to get rid of her. They both suspected that if she stayed here, Seeley—or someone else in the Wentworths’ employ—would come back.
“He won’t leave me alone,” she told Tione. “Next time, he’ll probably bring reinforcements. I don’t want to make trouble for you.”
“He can come all he wants. As long as you told the truth about not being a fugitive, and as long as you don’t want to go with him, he’s not getting his hands on you.” The corners of his mouth tilted wryly. “That would be called kidnapping, and it’s illegal.”
“Something being illegal never stopped him before.” Seeley was the Wentworths’ fixer. Not in the terrifying sense of the word, but he made problems go away. She’d never quite understood how, but bribery, blackmail, and extortion were mostly likely involved. Whatever the case, he wasn’t a good guy.
She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands, her crying jag over.
Tione’s gaze skittered over her features. “Who is he?”
“I can’t tell you.” To her surprise, she wished she could. Sharing with him would lighten the load on her shoulders. “And unfortunately, much as I’d like to stay, I really shouldn’t.”
Never mind that she’d been hanging all of her hopes on a fresh start in Haven Bay, the town she’d learned about through Mark’s friendship with Sterling. She still hadn’t even seen the ice cream parlor, or the gym-slash-art-studio. She hadn’t been surfing, or met the cheeky old ladies from the Bridge Club.
Tione raked a hand through his hair, and she noticed, not for the first time, that the short hair and beard combo really worked for her. He may be rough around the edges, but he was a good-looking man.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but please don’t run off. Especially if you don’t have a plan. Take a while and think about it. You’ll be safe here in the meantime.”
Slowly, she nodded. “Okay, I won’t leave without talking to you. I do need a little time to think.” Although there shouldn’t be anything to think about. It should be a given that she’d leave rather than spread her problems to people who didn’t deserve them. But his offer to stay was so tempting.
“We’ll have to tell Kat and Sterling,” he continued. “So they can be on their guard.” He must have misread her expression, because he added, “They won’t be mad at the deception. They’ll understand.”
“Actually, Sterling already knows.”
“He what?” Finally, Tione’s face showed an emotion, clear as day: shock.
Swallowing, she wiped her palms on her knees. “He’s friends with my brother. That’s how I found this place.”
His lips firmed together. “You mean he’s known right from the start?”
“No, no, no.” She didn’t want him to be angry at Sterling. “I didn’t tell him I was coming, and he didn’t recognize me at first. It was only yesterday that he realized.”