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That question came from me, and it was my first attempt at trying to be genuinely conversational with Ellery.
Sure, I’d had discussions with her leading up to this point, but they’d originally been focused on the training techniques she was learning, or the conversation we’d had earlier today in the Harper Security Ops office.
There was still more for me to learn, so that I could make sure we had all our bases covered when it came to ensuring her safety, but I didn’t want it to feel like I was only focused on that one thing.
I already knew that it hadn’t been easy for her to recount what made her leave her husband to begin with, and it was clear she’d struggled with me assuming the role that I had in her life right now, so I wanted to try to do something that would ease any of the tension she might have been feeling.
Of course, I couldn’t ignore what was happening, because I absolutely did not want to take any risks with her safety, but I thought that approaching the discussion this way, asking her what brought her here, might make it a little bit easier for her to deal with.
“Oh, well, I guess it was because I was really good at pretending,” she answered.
My brows pulled together, because nothing about what she’d just said made any sense in relation to my question.
“What?” I asked.
A small smile formed on her face before she explained, “I learned a long time ago that if I was ever going to stand a chance of leaving Patrick, I was going to need to play a role. I was going to need to make him believe that I was a certain kind of woman. So, I picked the exact opposite of who I was, but the woman who would be the perfect match for him.”
I hadn’t expected the conversation was immediately going to turn to a discussion of her husband—a fact that I was still struggling to come to terms with.
I was prepared for a conversation about how this place had some sort of sentimental value or special meaning to her, and that was the reason she chose it.
The fact that she was telling me about the kind of woman she pretended to be in her marriage was incredibly strange.
Sending a puzzled look her way, I silently questioned her.
Ellery didn’t miss it. “I pretended to be a wife who couldn’t live without the lifestyle Patrick’s money afforded us. He’s going to expect that I’m not going to settle for anything less than the absolute best that money can buy. That’s the case when it comes to lodging, too. He’ll expect to find me at some luxurious resort or, at the very least, a five-star hotel. What he won’t be expecting is to find me at Short and Sweet, a tiny home community that has the essentials, but isn’t over the top.”
Okay.
So, she’d misunderstood my question, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t appreciate getting the information that I just did.
Ellery wasn’t just a beautiful woman. She was so fucking smart, and I was already proud of her for the smart things she’d done to keep herself safe. Maybe she needed the physical training, something I was more than happy to give her, but she was, by no means, an incapable woman.
“That’s really, really smart of you, Ellery. I’m impressed, because a lot of people don’t think like that,” I told her.
“Thanks. I mean, I had a lot of time on my hands, so I used it wisely and figured out the best ways to do everything,” she replied.
“I have to admit that while I appreciate the explanation you just gave me, I wasn’t exactly referring to the tiny home when I asked why you picked this place. I was talking about Steel Ridge. Why did you leave whatever town you were living in and come here?”
Surprise washed over her. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed—”
“It’s okay. I should have clarified,” I assured her.
She gave me a quick nod. “Right. Well, I came here for you.”
In an instant, tension filled the room, and there wasn’t a question that it was all coming from me. Did she just say she came here forme?
“Pardon?”
Heat hit Ellery’s cheeks and a gorgeous flush came over them. “Gosh, Kane, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry. I meantyouas in Harper Security Ops, notyouas in, well, you.”
It took a lot for me not to react to hearing her say my name. She’d done it several times now, and for some strange reason, it did something to me every single time. I hated that I couldn’t react the way I wanted to react to hearing it.
“So, you were searching for Harper Security Ops?” I asked.
Her head moved up and down. “I didn’t know it was Harper Security that I’d find, but I knew that if I was going to leave, I was going to need to know how to defend myself. If I haven’t already said it before now, Patrick isn’t a man who likes to look like a fool. This whole thing, especially the publicity it’s gotten, is going to make him look like a fool. He’s not happy. Not only that, but Patrick is used to getting what he wants. If he expects that I’m supposed to stay with him for the rest of my life, miserable and completely unhappy, he intends to see that’s precisely what happens.”
“That’s unfortunate for him,” I said.
