Matthias paused in eating a fry, a brow arched in question.
“Yes, acquisition, as in willing or not.” She sipped her drink as she watched him eat.
The man was a veritable bottomless pit, or starving, from the way he scarfed down his burger and fries. Was he even chewing his food? She slid her plate over to him, not hungry. Matthias glanced at her in question, but she shook her head in amusement.
“Anyway, I escaped with a few others. I think I was eighteen or close to it. Once we were off the compound property, we scattered and I have no idea if any of them made it. I lived on the streets for a while before I decided I wanted a life, like those I had read about in books. I looked for work, but no one was willing to hire me. I had no identification, no proof of citizenship, no address, nothing.”
Matthias slid the plate back toward her. “Eat.”
Lilian shook her head and picked up a fry, using it to wave at him as she spoke. “You are not my father, so you can’t tell me what to do.” She nibbled on the fry, taking her time before speaking again. “And then I met Stephan.”
Matthias studied her with the mention of Stephan’s name.
“Tell me about him,” he said.
Chapter 3
Lilian explained how she had been harassed by a few of the local street punks. Stephan stepped in to rescue her and after finding out she had no place to go, no job, nothing, he took her in. He helped her find a place to live, and a job as a waitress in a small bar. It wasn’t much, but she earned the money which supported her. It had given her a sense of accomplishment.
Stephan also helped her access her inheritance and the money went into a bank account, which collected interest. It was a sizeable amount left to her from her mother’s estate and Lilian had used some of her inheritance to have her name changed. Little good it did.
“He was someone I trusted,” she said.
“But?”
“He was the first person I trusted, and he took something from me I’m not sure I know how to get back.”
Lilian couldn’t tell him. Not everything. Just saying his name brought back the ugly memories of the pain, and fear of being hurt again. Trust was something she couldn’t easily give anyone, not after Stephan. Their relationship might not have been sexual, despite Stephan’s desire otherwise, but he had still hurt her, physically and mentally.
“The message on the wall,” Matthias said, “reminding you to remember the pain. Did he abuse you?”
Lilian refused to look at Matthias. She didn’t want to see the pity in his eyes.
“I found a printed email from the CS giving him instructions about how to get me to a meeting place. Somehow, he had found out about me and was going to help them. They were going to pay him a reward. I ran away. Everything I had, which wasn’t much anyway, I left behind, and just ran. I went to a lawyer, had my name changed, had my bank account transferred to my new name, and eventually came here, fell in love with the town and never left.”
“Why didn’t you use your abilities to stop him?”
“Because…I was afraid to.” Lilian sighed and continued. “If I did use my abilities, anyone associated with the CS could locate me easily. If I had used my gift, I might have known what Stephan had planned. I could have escaped him, but the agents were another story.”
“But he’s tracked you down, as well as the CS agents.”
Lilian looked at him and nodded.
Matthias gestured to her uneaten burger and gave her a pointed look. She shook her head and pushed it back to him. He was silent as he ate her burger.
In three bites, no less.
How did he do it? Lilian picked at a fry.
Matthias finished eating and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “You can’t keep running. It’s too late now anyway.”
Lilian blinked. She’d told him she was a trained soldier, had special abilities, was wanted by a secret organization, and he comes up with that?
“I know,” she replied in a near whisper, “I just don’t know what else to do.”
“Fight back. You have abilities and you must have some friends here.”
It was said in a calm manner, without accusation or derision, but she flinched anyway.
“It’s not so easy. No one here knows and I kept it that way on purpose.”
Matthias sipped his iced tea, and then set the glass down. “You’ve lived here for how many years and haven’t allowed yourself to trust anyone?” He picked up a fry and took a bite, only to make a face and pick up the saltshaker.
Lilian bristled. Tension shot up another notch and she hated that his words made her feel defensive. “I don’t appreciate the attitude, Matthias. You have no idea what I’ve been through and you have no right to judge me.”
He gave her a conciliatory smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound judgmental. I just don’t understand why, when everyone here seems to know and like you, you don’t trust them.” He sprinkled salt onto the fries.
“I’m not even sure I trust you,” she said.
“Yes, you do. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have told me anything.”
Lilian glared at him. “I’ve been known to make grand mistakes of epic proportions.”
He grinned. “I can help you.”
“Make epic mistakes?”
He laughed and shook his head. “No, with your problems.”
She leaned back in her seat and eyed him. “Why would you want to?”
He eased back with a smile and she narrowed her eyes at him as she studied his expression. He was up to something. She could see the glint of amusement and mischief behind his eyes.
“I don’t need your help.” Lilian started to slide out of the booth.
Matthias was in front of her before she realized it. When she stood up, they were almost nose-to-nose. Well, her nose to his chest since he had a few inches on her.
She tensed. How did he move so fast? She hadn’t even seen it coming; his body language hadn’t revealed anything to her.
She froze in place when he leaned down to whisper near her ear. “You need my help.”
Lilian shoved him back a couple of steps. “What I need is for you to move away from me. You’re crowding me and I don’t like it.”
It was mostly true. He was crowding her, but for some reason, rather than dislike it, warmth spread in her body.
He chuckled, just loud enough for her to hear, and moved back. Peggy took that moment to arrive.
“All done?” she asked.
Lilian nodded and gave Peggy a weak smile. “Yes, we’re done. Just put it on my tab, all right?”
“I’ll pay for dinner,” Matthias said.
“No, you won’t.”
Peggy looked between the two of them. “Umm. Okay. No problem, Lil. I’ll make note of it.” She hurried away.
Matthias made a soft rumbling noise, beneath his breath.
Lilian lifted