He didn’t look convinced.
She patted his shoulder. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“If you need me, call.”
Stepping up alongside her, Stack growled to Leese, “Back off.”
“Sure thing.” Tone cordial as if he didn’t have a care, Leese said to Vanity, “I mean it, hon. Anytime, okay?”
Gratitude swelled, choking her more. “Thank you.” Turning, not bothering to see if anyone else looked her way, she marched out. Her car was across the street, and as she blindly headed toward it, a horn blared.
Stack pulled her back. “What the hell?” He scowled down at her. “You almost got hit.”
Stupid, stupid, stupid. She would not be a pathetic victim. She’d gone into this game with Stack knowing it could backfire.
Now that it probably had, she’d get it together and be a responsible, strong adult. “I’m sorry.” For so many things. “I didn’t see... I’ll be more careful now.” She freed her arm, glanced up and down the street, then all but ran to get in her car.
By the time she’d driven the first block, Stack was behind her, and he stayed close all the way to her house.
More than ever she wished Norwood and Maggie were waiting for her. Their unconditional love always filled her heart with contentment. It had been a very long time since she’d felt so alone.
In fact, the only time she ever remembered feeling so desolate was after she’d lost her entire family.
She pulled into the garage, thought about hurrying into the house to ensure whatever Stack had to say, he’d have to say inside. But that seemed cowardly, so she was still sitting behind the wheel when he opened her door.
When he remained silent, she decided he planned to come in anyway.
Dropping her keys into her purse, Vanity opened her seat belt and stepped out, shoulders back, spine straight. If she didn’t feel confident, at least she could fake it.
Stack waited for her to precede him through the garage, pausing before going through the door to the house to hit the automatic garage door unit.
Once inside, Vanity immediately reset the code on the alarm system, then decided to be proactive.
Flipping on the kitchen lights to chase away the shadows, she faced Stack and shrugged out of her coat. “All right. What’s happened?”
His gaze briefly dipped to her cleavage, making her regret her outfit choice for the night. Sure, when she’d first chosen the top, her intent had been to get his attention.
Now she just felt exposed and foolish.
Stack still had his keys in his hand, and while he dispassionately studied her body, he jangled them as if impatient to be on his way. “Phil broke into Tabby’s apartment.”
“I knew that much.” She’d worried about Stack and about Tabby. In a very short time they’d become more like family than her own family had ever been. It scared her that now, out of the blue, she felt that relationship slipping through her fingers. “I hope you got there in time to keep him from taking anything valuable.”
He nodded but moved on from that. “All those times you called him f’ing Phil, it was almost as if you understood that he’s a creep.”
“I do understand that. Phil is self-centered, lazy and lacks any sense of responsibility.”
“Yeah, you know all that because I told you often enough, right?”
He sounded so bitter, Vanity felt a trap coming on. “Yes, you mentioned it. But I have eyes of my own. I didn’t need you to tell me.”
Stack smiled, but it wasn’t a sign of pleasure or humor. “You saw everything so clearly that you decided to give him money? Money that he could have used to hire people to—”
“No!” Urgency brought Vanity forward until she stood against him. With him looking so grim, her heart tried to pound out of her chest. “He said he needed stuff for a job. Shoes and other equipment, gas for the car. That’s all. You have to know I’d never give him money to hurt you.”
Stack didn’t push her away, but he didn’t embrace her either, and that seemed worse. “You believed him about the shoes?”
Seeing the distrust in his eyes set her stomach roiling. She dropped her forehead to his chest, for only a moment borrowing the strength he’d so often given freely.
But no more.
Sensing it all crumbling down around her, Vanity stepped back. It was past time to tell Stack everything. It might be too late, but she’d try her best and hope it was good enough.
A deep breath helped to fortify her. “No, I didn’t believe Phil.” Chilled from the inside out, she clasped her hands together tightly. “I gave him the benefit of the doubt, hoping that maybe just this once, he really was looking for work. I hoped that if he got a job, it’d make your life easier, maybe ease the tension between you and Tabby.”