Page 37 of Scarred Sins

Her eyes close. “You have too much faith in me.’’

“You have it too little.’’

ELEVEN

The elevator door opens, and Arlo is the first one to step outside.

“Are you sure we can use it?” I ask, carefully falling into step next to him, though it looks like I’m walking on eggshells. With him standing so closely to me, he looks like a giant. My head barely reaches his shoulders, so it’s no wonder all of his clothes are gigantic on me.

“Of course,’’ he nodded. “The building is mine.’’

I roll my eyes. “I should’ve known you’re richy rich.’’

“You didn’t think I was killing people for pennies and dimes, did you?”

“Well, no,’’ I drawl out. “But it’s not like I actually thought about how much an assassin would cost.’’

Arlo looks at me, flashing me his grin, the diamond on his tooth shining. “Don’t worry, I’ll kill people for you free of charge.’’

“Thank you so much,’’ I exclaim, sarcasm coating my tongue. “I now have everything I ever wanted in life: an assassin at my disposal.’’

“You’re welcome.’’

Arlo’s idea of preparing me for the upcoming issues we’ll be facing is to simply train me. I took self-defense classes back in Long Grove, but given the nature of Arlo’s job, I have no doubt that he’s way better.

Somehow, during the night while I was fast asleep, Arlo dropped by Wren’s apartment, grabbed Arson and some of my clothes. When I saw Arson again, I squealed in happiness. But the orange ball of fur was less than pleased to be kissed and snuggled.

There are a lot of shiny things in Arlo’s home for Arson to play with, to break. She’s excited and doesn’t acknowledge me. Instead, she purrs, going to Arlo for anything she needs. The little traitor replaced me.

What the hell is so special about him?

I shake off the thoughts, trying to catch up with his long strides. He notices it, halts, and waits until I’m next to him again, then matches his pace to mine. The rest of the building is silent, which shouldn’t surprise me since he said he owns it.

He would earn a fortune if he rented other apartments.

The longer I spend time with Arlo, the less scared I am. Well, I’m scared, but not of him. The way he speaks, listens, and acts around me is sincere. A part of me wants to believe that he has no ulterior motives, and for the time being, I’ll trust that small part. He’s yet to do something to endanger me.

Arlo’s very serious about teaching me everything he knows. Once I was dressed in some casual gym clothes, we left his apartment. The gym of the building is in the basement. Half of it holds one of the biggest pools I’ve ever seen, the other side being the actual gym. It has everything – from different weights to multiple treadmills and punching bags to a small boxing ring.

Arlo’s carrying the gym bag, filled with water and some towels for both of us, and some of the things I couldn’t see while he was packing. It looks heavy, and he didn’t even let me get the chance to offer to carry it.

In his words, it’s offensive to even think he’d let me carry it.

“Hop in,’’ Arlo tosses the bag on a maroon bench, then motions with his head toward the boxing ring. “We’ll start there.’’

I take a deep breath, bracing myself for what’s to come, and get with him into the ring.

“I need to see how much you’ve learned at your self-defense classes.’’

A frown appears on my face. “How do you actually know about that?”

Arlo lifts a shoulder. “I know everything about you.’’

“By stalking me?”

“I prefer the term observing. It’s less creepy.’’

“Uh-uh,’’ I cross my arms in front of my face, watching while he struggles to keep a smile off his face.