For Them | 18+

Chapter 17

Warning: sexual content

Delilah O'Connor

Metal clinks echo through the empty carpeted hall, the key in my hand sliding smoothly into the slot. I shove the heavy door open with my shoulder and usher Nikolas inside before Kaato, who has already stationed herself at the entrance, can poke her head through the open door.

"Hi, sweet girl," I coo at her, cupping her face in my hands. "Look, I brought you a friend," I whisper to her as I glance back at the man behind me, gesturing for him to come over. Lines quickly adorn his forehead, and his lips pull up noticeably at the noises she's making. Both confusion and amusement are not uncommon responses to her odd mannerisms, I've noticed.

To the medium-sized dog's obvious delight, we both crouch while dodging her attempts to lick our faces. She's nonplussed at the polite rejections, wiggling and pawing for attention.

That's how we found ourselves seated on the floor petting the Toller for an unknown amount of time, her yips quieting down eventually to leave us in a drawn out silence. The stillness in the air prompts my mind to replay the night, mostly the events leading to the end of it. Do I bring up what happened? Of course I do, they will come looking for us.

If I know one thing for sure is that if they're smart, they can't risk believing we won't talk. Though we don't have the identities of these men, nor any sort of proof that we could hand to police, we could definitely put them right on their tracks. God, we fucked up bad.

"I know you're worried about those guys, but they're being dealt with. They won't ever touch you or anyone else, I promise. They won't be selling, either." He reveals this in such a firm manner that I find myself compelled to believe him. It doesn't totally settle my anxiety, but he seems to value honesty, and at the very least I believe that he believes he has it handled. That must count for something, especially since there's no reason for him to lie about our safety.

But what does he mean when he says they're being dealt with? When would he have had time to file a police report?

Connections with the police or illegal organizations are both plausible, given his prestigious social standing. But there is one that's more likely than the other, given what I've observed of his character. Assuming his aversion to liars isn't just a ruse to get people to trust him blindly. That would be unpromising, but fitting for someone who has an expertise in several fields of psychology.

I could also be reading too much into this.

Regardless, I won't be lax and display a foolish disregard for my own safety. Whether it's handled or not, it won't affect my prudence toward this situation.

I don't believe that you can ever both fully trust someone and have everything go your way, the odds of that are incredibly low. Reasonable doubt is my friend, because trusting that others will use their autonomy to my advantage one hundred percent of the time is simply foolish. And arguably self-obsessed.

"Handled, how?" I press, wanting to see how much he's willing to say. I want to know if he means he's handled it in an unsavory way, and whether he would admit it.

"Nothing illegal."

Not illegal because it never happened?

"Are you being entirely truthful when you say that?" I ask casually, no accusation in my tone. But he's not that gullible.

He shifts his head my way from where it rests on the wall, a subtle lift of his mouth preceding his response. He finds my persistence amusing.

"Yes," his eyes never stray from mine. There's no reason for me to believe that he's lying, in fact, there's more reason to believe that he's telling the truth. I think he's telling the truth, but I've been wrong before and I could be wrong again.