Chapter 7

Istare at the book in my hand and stroke my hand over the cover.

“Are you going to caress it all day, or are you going to let one of us buy it for you?” Oz’s amused voice sounds from beside me.

“I’m just trying to decide which one I want. I’ve narrowed it down to three.” I look at him in time to catch his grin.

“Why not take all three, then?”

I bite my lip. “I don’t want to take advantage.”

His grin falls from his face. “It’s a few books, Lara. You’re hardly asking for a Ferrari.”

“Wait, is that an option?” I ask with a smile of my own for a man I wanted to punch just last night.

“Not today, I’m afraid,” he answers drolly.

“Bummer. Okay, if you don’t mind, I’ll take these three books. I’ve wanted to read these forever.”

“You didn’t get to read much?” he asks absently, taking the book from my hand and the two others I’d stacked on the edge of the book-covered table in front of me.

“I read whatever was ever on hand, mainly textbooks that put me to sleep. There were a handful of romance books that I read so many times that I could probably recite them by heart. Still, I’ve never owned my own books before. I’m not even going to pretend I’m not internally jumping up and down right now.”

He stops short on his way to the counter and turns to look back at me with a frown. “You’ve never owned a book before?”

I flush with embarrassment. “No.”

His jaw locks and his eyes move back to the table. “Which ones were you interested in?”

“Oz, it’s fine. Three is more than?—”

“Which ones?” he interrupts.

When I don’t answer, he starts grabbing books randomly. I plead for him to stop, but he doesn’t listen. By the time he’s done, he must have about a dozen books in his arms. With a satisfied look on his face, he heads toward the checkout, with me trailing behind him.

“There you are. I’ve been wandering around this place like I was lost in Narnia,” Greg complains, standing beside me.

He looks from me to the back of Oz’s head as the man in question sets the books on the counter.

“What’s going on?”

Oz turns at the sound of Greg’s question and folds his arms across his chest.

“She’s never owned her own books. Did you know that? I don’t really read, but even I own books.”

Greg’s eyes drop to the pile of books on the counter before he looks back up with a grin. “Just go with it. There’s no use arguing with him when he’s like this.”

“It’s too much, though. I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to pay you back.”

“You don’t need to pay me back. It’s a gift,” Oz tells me before he steps closer and slides his finger under my chin, tipping my head back.

“They’re just books, Lara.”

I swallow hard, both of us knowing it’s so much more than that.

“Say, ‘thank you, Oz.’”

I feel a tear run down my face as I throw myself into Oz’s arms. “Thank you, Oz.”

He hesitates for a second before he wraps his arms tightly around me.

“All the bitching you did about Luna over the years, and here you are, adopting another little sister.” Greg chuckles as Oz releases me.

“Luna is a pain in my ass. Lara clearly sees me for the awesome brother I am, right?” he asks playfully.

My answer is said with nothing but sincerity. “Absolutely.”

He gets a look on his face, something I’m not a hundred percent sure I understand. It looks and feels a lot like protectiveness, and lord knows I could use a little of that in my life.

The cashier coughs to get Oz’s attention, and I turn back to Greg.

“Told you they’d come around, and Oz is one of the hardest nuts to crack. He’s the joker of the bunch, never seeming to take anything seriously, but nobody is more protective of his family and the people he loves than him.”

“But I’m nobody. I?—”

“You are somebody to us, somebody we care about. And that doesn’t happen often, especially not this quickly. What does that tell you?”

“That you’re both certifiable?”

He laughs. “Apart from that?”

When I struggle to answer, he sighs before flicking me on the forehead.

“Ow.”

“That you’re lovable. I can see I’m going to have my work cut out with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I suspect you’ve spent your life so far being treated as if you were less, than you are. They put you in a little box that you never tried to break out of while they filled you with lies about how disappointing and worthless you are.”

I bite my lip hard enough to taste blood.

“But you know what?”

“What?”

“They fucking lied. You are so much more than you realize, sweetheart. And I’m going to make it my life’s mission to make you see that.”

“Here you go.” Oz turns back to us and hands me two bags that are freaking heavy.

“Okay, maybe it would be better if Greg and I carried them.”

“Hey. Not all of us look like the Hulk’s love child.”

Greg laughs out loud as Oz’s eyes sparkle with amusement.

“Just give them here, woman.”

“Nope. I got it.”

“I’ll tell you what, let’s drop them off at the car.”

“Deal.”

His lips twitch as he bites back a smirk, but he gestures for me to follow him, so I do.

Greg walks beside me, making idle chit-chat as I try to will my arms not to fall off.

By the time I have the books safely locked in the trunk of the car, my arms are like jelly.

“Where to next? We have clothes, toiletries, and books. What else?” Greg asks.

“I think that’s enough for now.”

Oz turns and looks down the street before he grunts. “What about shoes?”

“I have my sneakers. I’m good.”

“But you bought a few pretty dresses. You’ll need something else.”

I giggle. I can’t help it. “It’s not like I’ll be going anywhere, Oz.”

Ignoring me, he marches toward the shoe store, and I look at Greg.

“The man is on a mission. I’ll say it again, just go with it.”

“But—”

“You might want to hurry, though, if I were you.”

“Wh—”

“Do you really want Oz to pick out shoes for you?” He lifts one eyebrow challengingly.

Giving in, I hurry after him and spend the next thirty minutes talking the man down from five pairs of shoes to two—a pair of simple tan ballet flats and a pair of black ankle boots with a chunky low heel.

“Okay, what else?” he asks when he shoves the shoes in the trunk.

“Honestly, right now, I could use a nap. Who knew shopping could be so exhausting?”

His eyes narrow on me as if he’s testing the validity of my words.

“I don’t know when we’ll be able to get you back here with everything going on. And I don’t want you coming alone, and even though Greg is more than capable of kicking ass and taking names, he’s only one man and an injured one at that. Now, are you sure there is nowhere else you want to go?”

Biting my lip, I look up and down the street, but I don’t see what I want.

Something must show on my face because Greg nudges me. “Tell me what you’re looking for, and I’ll tell you if we have one.”

“A toy store? I don’t need anything else, but kids get bored and might need something to play with,” I reply hesitantly.

Both men are quiet for a moment, and I worry I’ve overstepped. But then Oz pulls out his cell phone and looks at me while waiting for the person on the other end to pick up.

“I’m gonna need you to bring the truck and meet us at Toy Tower,” he says before hanging up and shoving his phone back in his pocket.

“Let’s get this show on the road. We can hit the drive-thru on the way. I’m starving.”

I blink at him as he climbs into the driver’s seat.

“How can he be hungry? He ate my body weight in food less than three hours ago.”

“The man is a human garbage disposal.”

I grab the door for Greg, which makes him grumble again, but he doesn’t complain, which I’ll take as a win. Once he’s inside and the door’s shut, I get in the back and buckle up.

“Can I ask you a question, Lara?”

“You just did,” I tease. “But sure.”

“What did you do for fun? You know, when you weren’t working. And while we are on the subject, I know you’ve been the one looking after the kids. But before you were old enough to do it, who looked after them? More importantly, who looked after you?”

I look at Greg, but he keeps his eyes forward, clearly waiting to see if I’ll answer.

“I didn’t do anything for fun, Oz. That’s not how the Division worked. As for who looked after me, there was always someone around to make sure I had something to eat—clean clothes, that kind of thing. I had tutors, too, when I was old enough.”

I watch Oz’s hands as they squeeze the steering wheel tightly. “What about playing or going to the park?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I want you to tell me that the things I’m thinking are not true. That my imagination is just running away with me because I’m a paranoid bastard. I want you to tell me that you had a life outside of that fucking place, a life where you got to run and shout and be a goddamn kid.”

His anger is palpable. But what shocks me is that it’s not aimed at me, but for me. If this man isn’t careful, he will find himself with a new best friend.

“I can’t. But it wasn’t all bad.”

“Yes, it fucking was. How much time did you spend at that fucking place?”

I tilt my head, wondering if I should lie, but decide nothing good will come from that.

“I lived there, Oz. I always have. And I’ve only left a few times.”

Absolute silence.

One minute we’re moving, and the next, Oz has pulled over and climbed out, slamming the door behind him. He roars at the sky, and though the sound is muted inside the car, it still makes me jump.

“Is he okay??”

“He just needs a minute. He mostly grew up here at Apex with Zig and their sister Luna. They were raised by their grandfather after their parents died, and they were allowed to mostly run wild. He’s processing how different it was for you. I don’t think he truly grasped what your life was like before. We only had Avery as a point of reference. Obviously, though monitored, she was free to come and go of her own free will. That wasn’t the case with you, was it?”

“No. But I didn’t know any different. I didn’t get to run wild and even if that was an option, I had nobody to run wild with. I didn’t have friends. I don’t remember even seeing another kid until I was around seven or eight. I was stunned. Of course the kid wanted nothing to do with me. Though looking back, I understand now that they were traumatized and scared. But back then...” I shake my head and watch Oz bend over and take deep, calming breaths.