Change of Heart - By S.E. Edwards Page 0,40

to call the cops—not if you tell me why you did it.”

“Why?” Rich laughs. “Why not? You were supposed to be just some random girl. You were never supposed to be in real danger. Once Tam and Victor—and the men who pay them—found out who you really were, they’d let you go. Their employers aren’t morons. They’re all professionals..”

“Then why come back?”

“Because I was still worried, that’s why! I know what Victor is like. You saw. Tam is even worse. They could still hurt you without killing you. Hell, they could do it without leaving any marks.” He looks at me pointedly. I shift a little under the intense gaze. “You know what I mean.”

“But—”

“I couldn’t let that happen to you,” he continues over top of me. “I was never supposed to care. Not when we came up with the plan. But I did, dammit. And I still do, all right? Every mile that brought us closer to that gas station filled me with more and more apprehension. More and more dread. There was something about you, Penny… something that stuck. I was never supposed to care what happened to the girl I passed off as my sister. But, I did. And now, that screwed everything up.”

He laughs bitterly. “There you go. You’ve coaxed the truth from me. Isn’t that what you wanted? Now you have it.” He swings his hand through the air and points at the door. “Now, go! Take the money I gave you. Take my Ford. Take it, and go.”

“Rich, I…” I shake my head. “I don’t want to go. Not yet.”

He stares at me in disbelief. “Not yet? Not after what I told you? Not after everything I did? Don’t you feel… betrayed?”

“Of course.” I smile. “But I already know I can’t trust you.”

“Hah!” Rich claps his hands together and grins at me. “You’re definitely something, Penny. You had no idea who you got yourself involved with at Barren. But it turns out, neither did I.”

“I tend to be more resilient than people give me credit for,” I note. I walk over to Rich, and make a point of taking all the bills from my wallet. I set all of them down beside him, except for two. “You can have those back,” I say. “But I’m going to need to keep two for the drug store.”

***

When I return, hauling two plastic bags full of bandages and disinfectants and pain pills with me, I find Rich fast asleep on the couch. His hand has fallen away from the towels on his leg, but to my relief, the wound’s not bleeding.

It seems like a shame to wake him. I close the door as gently as I can and turn out the lights. I tip-toe to my bed. But instead of crawling in, I pull the blanket off, and walk over to lower it over Rich’s body.

The light from the streetlamp outside lets me see his face. Asleep, he looks so peaceful. His chest rises and falls with the deep rhythm of an exhausted sleep. I smile, and allow myself to reach out to brush away some of the hair from his forehead. He shifts as soon as my fingers touch him.

I freeze. My heart starts pounding. Did I wake him?

Rich lets out a deep breath, and turns to the side to settle more comfortably on the couch. I relax. I tuck the blanket up to his neck, making sure he’ll stay warm. Walking over to the closet, I take out the extra fleece cover from the top shelf, remove my shoes, and lie down on the bed.

“Goodnight, Rich,” I whisper. I snuggle up beneath the thin fleece. Just before I close my eyes, I notice a glimmer of light reflecting from Rich’s pupils.

That’s when I realize he’s been awake this entire time, watching me silently, his beautiful blue-grey eyes glowing in the dark.

Chapter Seven

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!”

Rich’s overly enthusiastic voice pulls me from my sleep. “Ugh…” I groan. “I was having the most pleasant dream.”

“Really? Was it about me?”

I swat at him blindly. Rich laughs and jumps away. “Leave me alone,” I complain, digging my head deeper into the stack of pillows. “It’s too early to wake up.”

“Early?” Rich sounds amused. “Unless you’ve gone nocturnal on me, Penny, it’s not early at all. In fact—” he stops for a dramatic pause, “—it’s already half past three.”

“It… what?” I jolt upright. The sun shining brightly through the window makes me squint and turn away. The blanket is