“Morning,” he rumbles, his voice deeper than Ari’s, less smooth and cultured.
“Who are you?”
Reclining more, he tucks an arm under his head, stretches his long legs out in front of him over the floor and crosses an ankle over the other.
“Your babysitter.”
I’m not sure I believe him. “Where’s Ari?”
Scrubbing a hand down his face, he speaks against his palm. “On a job. He’ll be back late tonight. But he didn’t want you to be alone last night.”
His eyes meet mine again. “Now that you’re awake, I can get the fuck out of here and head home to get some sleep.”
I blink at that, my cheeks heating. “Were you awake all night?”
If he was, I know exactly what he would have heard. My crying. The tantrums I can’t control. I think it was worse last night. The desperation renewed now that I know what it feels like to sleep without it.
One golden brown eyebrow lifts, the man’s eyes watching me carefully. I can tell by looking at him that he’s every bit the mystery that Ari is.
“It’s not something I’m not used to with you.”
Suspicion creeps up my spine, simmering anger right there beneath my skin. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Don’t fucking tell me I’ve had two strange men following me around. Don’t you fucking -
“I’m the person who’s called in when Ari can’t keep an eye on you.”
His shit-eating grin says it all. Unlike Ari, who’d appeared vulnerable for admitting the stalking, this man wears it like a fucking crown.
His smile stretches wider, and he laughs.
“You going to attack me, too? Or should I toss some pillows near the window so you don’t bust your ass too hard?”
My eyes round, then narrow. Not giving a shit that I’m barely dressed, I step out from behind the wall.
His gaze doesn’t dip to run down my naked legs like Ari’s always do. Instead, he keeps it locked to mine, no interest in anything more than slapping me in the face with his knowledge of me when, again, I have no idea who he is.
“Who are you?” I ask the question a second time, not expecting an answer. It surprises me when he gives me one.
“My name’s Lincoln. I’m a friend of Ari’s, and I’ve been keeping tabs on you just as long. So, trust me, kid, there’s nothing about you I don’t already know. Hell, who do you think pulled you out of that house when your husband almost fucking killed you?”
My mouth drops open, closes again. “I thought Ari-“
“If it wasn’t for Ari,” he interrupts me with a deep voice that easily overpowers mine, “you’d be dead. Several times in your life, in fact. You’re a serious pain in the ass. You should know that.”
Although I hate the joy he’s taking in making a joke of what’s been done to me, I don’t begrudge his offer of information.
“How long exactly have the two of you been following me and why?”
His lips curl as he snatches a pair of shoes from the floor near the side of the couch and begins pulling on his socks. “Nice try.”
Fine. He won’t answer that question. Maybe he’ll answer a different one.
“What does Ari do for a living? What job is he on now?”
“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you.”
“Ha,” I say, not believing him. “Very funny.”
His eyes drift up to me as he tightens the laces of a shoe. “I’m not kidding.”
Taken aback by the honesty in his answer, a new stream of fear drips down my spine.
Lincoln ignores me to continue tying his shoe, the skin of his fingers turning white around the string for how hard he tugs.
Once finished, he sits up and locks his stare with mine.
“Here’s the deal. You have a fuck ton of questions. I won’t answer them, and neither will Ari. But you also have a fuck ton of answers displayed around you in this place. Some will piss you off. Some will make you think that maybe Ari is a good guy. He’s not. I’m not. Don’t fool yourself. But the answers are there. It’s up to you to find them, and it’s also up to you to accept them and learn to live with them. Ari won’t let you go. I don’t think you understand that yet. And it’s not my job to make you understand. I, personally, have been against this all along, and if I had my way, you would have been left