Page 48 of Vandal Unbound

It’s clear she misunderstood my muttered curse, but I don’t correct her. “You may be onto something.”

Maren sighs. “They’re always so damn confident and capable. They always seem to be…ready. For life and all that. Like they know they’ll be able to face it head-on, that they already have the skills.”

You couldn’t even keep yourself safe.

Thinking about it now, I realize not only did he manage to stay alive that night of whatever he went through, and whatever happened after he ran back to the compound, but he also made sure Maren, Elsie, and I were all safe before he did.

“Is that how you ended up with Knox?”

Maren grins at the question. “I think that’s a question that requires cake.”

The coffee and cake are a splurge I should probably skip, but it’s been so long since I treated myself to anything nice that I can barely choose.

“Should we do the cake-tasting?” Maren asks. “Go wild a little?”

I shake my head. “As much as it sounds amazing, that’s a little out of my budget right now.”

Maren grins and pulls a credit card out of her pocket. “Oh, no. We’re getting it because Knox slipped me his credit card and insisted that he was buying us our treats. I obviously said no atfirst because I’m more than capable of buying my own cake.” She rolls her eyes, as if to say,Duh!“But then he muttered something about me buying my own cake not being, excuse my language, the fucking point, and that I should just let him do something nice.”

I don’t want to end up beholden to anyone, but there isn’t a polite way to say no to this. “Then that would be really kind of him.”

Once we’re set with coffee and five slender portions of cake each, we take a seat by the window to stay inside and make use of the air-conditioning.

“You asked how I ended up with Knox,” Maren says. “It’s a new thing, but our families have been unpleasantly tangled for years.”

“Families can be complicated,” I say, thinking of Elsie’s father.

“That they can. I guess what you could say about me and Knox is that we’ve been aware of each other. How could we not be with a family history like ours? But it took some trouble and Knox saving me just before the eye of a hurricane hit to bring us together.”

I take a bite of the first cake, a delicious carrot cake that’s moist and has great cream cheese icing. “Doesn’t it worry you? Swinging from a family on one side of the law to…well…Knox?”

Maren chews thoughtfully on a bite of red velvet. “I’m going into this with my eyes wide open. My father may have been the sheriff before he died recently, but he?—”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” I say. The prickle of relief itches a little. The farther I am from law enforcement, the better.

Maren shrugs. “He wasn’t a good or honest man. Our relationship was pretty close to nonexistent. I’d be a liar if I said I was sad he was dead because he tried to kill me, and he killed Knox’s younger brother.”

Everything I thought Maren was about to say is the opposite of this. I was worried outside when Vandal told me about her connection to the sheriff, but a weight lifts off my shoulders as I realize there’s no chance of him bringing me any harm.

“Anyways, I wasn’t safe with my father. He tried to kill me. How can I be any worse off with Knox? He’d lay down his life for me. Even ran into a burning building to get to me, once.” She taps the credit card on the table next to her phone. “I know I’m not alone. And maybe better than that, there’s always going to be someone willing to stand beside or even in front of me if there’s trouble. So, I guess the truth is, I feel safer now than I did before.”

I take a sip of coffee. “When you put it like that, I guess I understand it.”

Maren smiles softly. “So, you and Vandal?”

I nearly choke on the bite of rich chocolate cake I was enjoying. I cover my mouth with my hand so I can answer quickly. “There is no me and Vandal.”

Maren raises an eyebrow conspiratorially. “Really? Because I’m certain there was a vibe between you. And maybe it’s because I’m pregnant, but seeing him lifting that precious little girl of yours up in the clubhouse and talk to her before coming over to us was freaking cute.”

“Oh my gosh, congratulations.” I remember how heady those early months of being pregnant felt.

Maren smiles. “Thank you. It caught us by surprise but is absolutely wanted. Maybe you and Vandal could give Elsie a sibling.”

And I think back to seeing Vandal’s thick muscles flex as he wrapped my little girl in his arms. I did some research on it, to see if I could figure out why my daughter imprinted on Vandal so hard. But there’s research that says it’s quite normal whenkids find someone they finally feel safe with after a period of not feeling safe at all.

And I suppose if I were small and felt vulnerable and fragile, clinging to the biggest man in the room who knows and remembers the name of your teddy bear would make me feel safe.

“I don’t think…” I struggle with what to say next. I barely know Maren, but the more time I spend with her, the more I think my initial opinion was correct. “Vandal is…”