Throne of Truth (Truth and Lies Duet #2)(35)

The combination Penn gave me.

The combination of the night we met.

Was that an unnecessary stab at my romantic ideals or had he felt something so strange that night?

You know he did.

He admitted it.

His voice echoed in my head with such delicious words. Words that clenched my tummy, suffocated my lungs, and restarted my heart. “Glad to know it wasn’t just one of us who fell that night.”

And now, he’d been taken again. Locked up where I couldn’t reach him.

Holding back more tears, I inputted the code and spun the dial. Holding my breath, I slouched in relief as the mechanism unlocked, beckoning me to lift the lid and learn its contents.

Cracking the top, I glanced at the treasure trove Penn had decided was valuable enough to keep safe.

Inside was his passport, a wad of one hundred dollar bills, an envelope marked stocks and bonds, and another one with the words: ‘In an emergency.’ I opened that one, pulling out what I assumed was Larry’s phone number.

David passed me his cell-phone before I could ask. His smile was knowing, his eyes obedient, even if he didn’t necessarily agree with what I was about to do.

I took his phone but paused. “You knew. Didn’t you?”

He clasped his hands in front of his belt buckle. “I had my suspicions when I recognized him outside the Blue Rabbit.”

“Yet you didn’t say anything?”

“It wasn’t my place.”

“Not your place to protect me?”

He smiled, chuckling softly. “My place is to protect your body. It was never in my contract to protect your heart.” He motioned to the phone. “You already called me a meddler like your personal assistant. I wasn’t about to risk my job by telling you who or who not to date.”

Awkwardness fell between us. I’d spent years with David, yet we’d never had a truly frank conversation—especially about my love life.

“Just out of curiosity.” I turned his phone on, typing in Larry’s number. “Would you have protected my heart if I’d decided to date Greg like my father and Steve wanted?” My thumb hovered over the call button, waiting for David’s answer.

He smiled, but it tinged with rage that Greg had taken me out of his custody and hurt me. “I would’ve fired myself if you’d announced you were with him.” His lips twitched. “Respectfully, of course, Ma’am.”

Despite everything—the lies, the police, the fact that Penn was Nameless and he’d just been carted away for the second time—I smiled. “That’s what I thought.”

I pressed the call button as David said, “For what it’s worth, I do believe he’s a good guy. If you read between the lines, that is.”

“I know.” I held the phone to my ear. A ring tone sounded. “I saw it that first night.”

I just forgot to trust it and not let doubt and disbelief get in my way.

I knew Penn was a good guy—despite his jackass ways the past few weeks.

In his mind, I deserved that treatment.

In my mind, I kind of agreed with him.

“Larry speaking.”

My questions snapped away, leaving more important things. “Larry, this is Elle Charlston. Penn’s been arrested.”

He reacted straight away. “Ah, damn, I feared something like this would happen.”

“Something like this?”

“Him getting mixed up with you. It’s not exactly good for his temper.”

I agreed Penn had a temper, but he could also control it. He’d unleashed it twice since I’d known him and both were to protect me.

He had my back. I hadn’t had his.

God, I had to stop tormenting myself and fix what was broken, not focus on the reason for it. “It would’ve been a lot simpler if he’d told me the truth from the beginning.”

“I did tell him that.” Larry sighed. “Did he tell you the truth now?”

“As the police dragged him away, yes.”

“And?” Larry prompted.

“And what?”

“How do you feel?” His tone cajoled.

“I...I don’t know.”

Confused.

Annoyed.

Frightened.

Guilty.

“What does that mean?” He sighed again, heavier this time. “Look, when I first helped him, he kept his feelings for you a secret. He didn’t tell me about the girl in Central Park. But after a while, he confided in me. When I managed to revoke his sentence and free him, he said he would track you down and see if what you had was a one-night spark or real.”

He didn’t continue.

I blurted, desperate for more. “What else...what else did he talk about?”

“He, uh—he found you.”

“Obviously.”

“No, he found you the night he was released.” He waited for that bomb to destroy me. “He found you and then refused to contact you.”

Tears puddled inside, growing wetter with every breath. “Why?”

“I’m guessing that’s his part to tell.” He cleared his throat. “I’d better go. I’ll get my ass down to the station and start the proceedings to free him. Again.” Something clattered in the background. “I don’t know how things ended with you tonight, but if you want, call me tomorrow, and I’ll arrange a time for you to see him once he’s been processed.”