Part 26 (2/2)

He moved closer, backing her into the breakfast bar. ”Did you mean it?” he asked softly. ”When you said you loved me?”

She closed her eyes, shoulders slumping. She couldn't deal with this, not right now.

”Did you?”

”Yes,” she said, barely audible.

He slid his hand up to cup her neck, brushed his thumb across her lips. ”Then I don't understand what it is you have to figure out.”

He kissed her cheek and she started to melt. G.o.d, he was doing it again. In about five seconds she wasn't going to be capable of saying no to anything.

”Stop,” she said, proud of how firm she managed to sound. She ducked under his arm and managed to get a few feet of s.p.a.ce between them. ”Yes, I said it, and yeah, I meant it, but how do we know this is even real? How do we know it's not just s.e.x?”

”You think this is about f.u.c.king? Fine. Stay here and I'll not f.u.c.k you for as long as you want to prove how I feel about you. I love you, Toni. Don't ruin it just because you're scared.”

”People don't fall in love in four days.” But the churning in her gut was telling her otherwise.

He slammed his fist into the counter. ”I'm so G.o.dd.a.m.ned sick of hearing you say that. How long does it take? A week? A month? A year? How long do you need, Toni?”

She shook her head. She didn't know. She'd known John a lot longer and trusted him, and look where that had gotten her.

”Just know this,” he said, his voice somber. ”I meant it when I said I love you. And in case you're wondering, I've never said it before, because I've never meant it before. So you may want to take that into consideration before you go running back to Seattle with your tail between your legs.”

Her head snapped up. ”I'm not running anywhere.”

”Not yet.” His thick shoulders were bunched with tension.

”I haven't made any decisions yet,” she said.

He didn't say anything, just stared at her, disappointment carving deep grooves in his face.

”I should go,” she muttered, fleeing for the relative solitude of the shower.

She grudgingly allowed Ethan to drive her to pick up a rental car. She needed to get away from him, from the devastating effect he had on her mind and body, so she could make a good choice.

A smart choice.

A safe choice.

He grabbed her when she started to get out of the car, capturing her mouth in a hungry, needing kiss. ”You're staying with me tonight.”

”I'll call you later,” she said noncommittally.

His kiss bruised her lips and made her toes curl before he released her.

Toni's head was pounding by the time she got to her apartment later that evening. She'd stopped by Marcy's to see Kara and was relieved to see that Kara was doing fine, considering her ordeal.

”Mom says I have to go see a therapist,” Kara said, rolling her eyes. She was trying to act as if being kidnapped and having her father try to cover it up were no big deal, but Toni could see the lingering shadows in her eyes.

”I'd say that's a very smart idea,” Toni replied. ”You may think you're fine now, but stuff like this can sneak up on you and mess you up in ways you never realize.”

Kara shrugged and settled deeper into the couch cus.h.i.+ons. ”Yeah, well, I made her a deal. If she'd quit drinking, I'd go to therapy. So she's checking into rehab next week.”

”That's great. Is it an inpatient program?”

Kara nodded and took a sip of her soda, her gaze darting from Toni's. ”My mom wants us to go stay with my aunt, but she lives in the middle of nowhere up in Oregon. My brother likes it out there because there's, like, horses and cattle and stuff. But I hate it up there. I mean, there's seriously nothing to do.”

”It's only for a month, right?”

Kara nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. ”Yeah, well, I was thinking, maybe instead of going to see my aunt, maybe I could stay with you.”

That brought her up short. ”Kara, my apartment is a s.h.i.+thole. Trust me, you don't want to stay there.”

Kara's eyes were wide, beseeching. ”We could stay here. I bet my mom won't care. She's, like, ready to give you anything for finding me. Or we could stay at my dad's-there's seven bedrooms.”

Toni shook her head. ”I don't even know if I'll be here through next week. I'm probably moving back to Seattle-”

”You're moving? But what about me? You're the only one who knows, you know, what I did. You're the only one I can talk to.”

Toni rested a hand on Kara's shoulder. ”You can talk to your mom. She'll understand. And if you can't talk to your mom, you can talk to the therapist. They have to keep that stuff confidential. You have a lot of people who love you and want to support you.”

”Yeah, whatever,” Kara said, shrugging off Toni's hand as she stood. ”Um, before you leave town, is there anything you can do to, like, make those pictures disappear?”

Toni sighed. ”I'll do what I can.” She could blow up Toby Frankel's server and get the pictures removed from Kara's FacePlace page, but she couldn't completely obliterate everything. ”Just be careful about what you post from now on.”

”I will,” Kara said. ”I shut down the V-Club. Even though that pervert Barnes is in the hospital, there are probably a bunch of other weirdos just like him,” she shuddered.

Toni liked to think that millionaires willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to rape virgins were a rare breed, but you never knew. And if the threat kept Kara cautious, all the better.

”I'd better get going,” Toni said.

”Yeah, you probably need to start packing for your big move.”

”I'm still not sure I'm going yet. And even if I do, we'll keep in touch.”

Kara snorted. ”Yeah, right, I'm sure you'll be down here every weekend.”

Toni rubbed her suddenly aching temples. Up until a week ago, she'd felt almost completely alone. Now she had two people urging her-practically browbeating her-to stay, even as everything was lining up perfectly for her to move back home. ”Look, I'll be at Ethan's later if you need anything. He's only five minutes away.”

”Whatever.” Kara turned her attention back the the latest issue of Us Weekly.

Marcy caught her as she got to the door and handed her an envelope.

”Thanks,” Toni said, surprised. She usually had to send Marcy at least two invoices before she got paid. ”But I haven't even billed my hours yet.”

Marcy shook her head, her eyes watery but clearer than they'd been in a long time. ”Send me your bill whenever. This is extra.”

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