Daddy’s Little Liar by Lila Fox

Chapter Eight

 

Faith had been there nine days and had a routine she liked. Besides the cleaning crew, there was no one else she’d heard in the whole building, and so far, she’d been able to avoid them.

The first Saturday, she’d gone into secondhand stores and Goodwill and found a blanket, pillow, and several different outfits. Everything had been marked down so low it amazed her.

It seemed like her luck was finally turning.

Fortunately, she’d also found a backdoor to the building the cleaning crew used and was able to come and go, but she didn’t take a lot of chances, afraid she’d be locked out.

The rest of the weekend was spent entertaining herself with the books she found at the Goodwill. She’d even found some coloring books and colored pencils. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so rested and at peace.

The first whole week, Faith worked as hard as she could. The highlight of the day was eating with Rylan. The only downside to it was when she had to make up lies when he asked her questions. It always made her stomach ache.

She was so used to pretending to be someone she wasn’t or that everything was great in her world that she didn’t know how to act otherwise.

The imaginary family she’d made up when she was a child was almost real to her. But she had to remind herself several times that she had no family. No one to take care of her or give a damn about her. Until Rylan. He was so handsome with his dark hair and chocolate-brown eyes. She could have stared at him all day. The fact that he wanted to spend time with her still confused her, but she was soaking up as much affection as she could.

Not only did he take care of her more than anyone else in her life ever had, but he also made her feel like a desirable woman with the way she caught him looking at her at times. She wanted to ask him if he liked her like that or if he just saw her as a young employee he was helping. However, she was afraid he’d tell her he was nice to her because he pitied her, and that would break her heart. She’d never felt so deeply about another person as she did him, and the depth of her emotions for him terrified her.

One night, she had settled down to sleep when she heard voices outside the door. Her heart skipped in her chest when she heard and saw the doorknob twist.

She hurriedly and quietly hid her blanket and pillow behind the sofa and crawled under the desk. She pressed her hands to her mouth when the door opened, and she heard Steve and Tony.

“Fuck, where the hell is she?” Steve said. “I would have thought she’d be here.”

“This building is huge, man. We’ll just keep looking.”

“Are you sure John was right?”

“Yeah,” Tony said. “He said he never saw her leave or come into the building.”

“Maybe she comes in the back?” Steve guessed.

“Hell, I don’t know. Let’s look for a while, but then I have to head home and get some sleep.”

“Yeah, me, too. Fuck, I hope we find her. I’ve wanted to get my hands on her for a long time.”

“She’s a hot piece of ass.”

“And the good part is if we can’t scare her into shutting up, I doubt anyone will believe her if she says she was raped.”

“It’s perfect. Come on,” Tony said.

Faith listened to the door close and felt herself shake. She stayed under the desk, pressing her face to her knees as she hugged her legs against her chest, knowing they could come back at any time and catch her.

God, what could she do? They were probably right that they could gang rape her and get away with it. Although Rylan was nice to her, she still was nothing to him as far as she knew.

She held her breath when she thought the door opened one more time but she couldn’t be sure because her heartbeat was so loud it overshadowed everything else.

She had no idea how much time passed before she finally crawled out from under Rylan’s desk.

The rest of the night passed with her lying on the floor behind Rylan’s desk with her blanket and pillow. When her alarm went off, she jerked awake.

She grabbed all her things and went to the gym in the basement to shower. Even though she locked the door, she rushed through it. The last thing she wanted was for the guys to come in when she was naked.

The next few days, she got shakier and more nervous. She’d heard the two men try to find her again a few more times, and she hid in different places.

She had no idea how much longer she could deal with it or when they would catch her alone.

All she needed was a little bit more time to save up enough for a studio apartment. She’d found one relatively close for a good price, but she didn’t have the down payment yet.

God, she had to hang on a little longer because she wasn’t going to walk away from the best job she ever had and a man she was quickly falling in love with. She wanted as much time with him as she could get because to her, every minute counted.

****

Rylan watched Faith as she ate lunch with him, like she did every day. The last few days, she’d become more and more nervous, and the dark circles under her eyes were more pronounced.

“So, I forgot what you told me, but where are you living again?”

Her gaze jerked to him. “Um … with my friend Molly.”

From the report he’d received from his private investigator, she’d left there the day she started the job in his building, but every time he’d asked, she always gave that answer, and he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to call her on it and send her running.

What information his guy had found was depressing. She grew up in the slums with her mother, who was never around. Faith had started to go to college, but when she was twenty-one, her mother had died, and she’d had to move out of her apartment and quit school.

She’d done the best she could, but one thing after another had happened, and he wondered how she could keep going and be as sweet as she was.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” The thought of her with another man infuriated him. He’d been letting her get to know him and be comfortable with him before he tried to move their relationship to the next level.

He caught the way she looked at him and knew she was attracted to him as much as he was to her. But he didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her or have her think if she didn’t want it, they couldn’t be friends. He didn’t want her to feel sexually harassed by him.

She jolted. “No. No boyfriend.”

Rylan relaxed a bit. So, if she wasn’t with Molly or a boyfriend, where the hell was she living?

A sick feeling grew. No fucking way was she sleeping in the building. God, that had to be so scary for her, and it wasn’t safe at all.

He’d call his head of security and see if there was a way they could find out. In the meantime, he’d keep his eyes on her.

He stood and walked around his desk, helped her stand, and then kept his hands on her shoulders to steady her and keep her close. They stared at each other for a minute before he cleared his throat. “Do you have everything you need, honey?”

She nodded.

“You know you can come to me anytime for anything, right?”

She nodded, but he could tell she didn’t believe him.

“Would you mind if I gave you a hug?”

He saw the surprise and pleasure fill her eyes as her smile brightened. She nodded and walked into his arms like she’d done it many times before. He was slowly getting her used to his touches, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she enjoyed all of it, making him think she was ready for the next step, like a date outside of the building.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and heard her sigh. Her arms tightened around him. He was so close to tipping her head back and kissing her, but he knew he needed to step back.

“Does Bucky have you busy the rest of the day, honey?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

“Well, then go ahead and head down. If you need anything, call me.”

“I will, Rylan. Thank you.”