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Chapter Seven

"It means until this is over, you and I are joined at the hip. You'll be my fucking shadow until further fucking notice."

Steph's mouth dropped open in shock. Before she could reply, Lester spoke again.

"Go pack a bag, Steph." Lester ordered with a sigh.

Steph took a step and then stopped. She glanced over at Lester, chewing on her lower lip. "Are you going to lock me up in a safe house?" She asked. She didn't want to talk to him, not really. But she needed to know if she was going to be locked up until further notice. Although if so, she had no one to blame but herself. So to find out, she had to talk to him. And really, she didn't want to. She was almost afraid of this Lester but she was curious about what was going to happen now.

He shook his head. "A safe house won't keep you safe. Ranger won't even be able to keep you safe. I meant it when I said we'll be attached at the hip. Where I go, you go until further notice."

Steph swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn't know what to say to him, but she was definitely sorry. She was use to people wanting her dead, but she didn't like or want to put Lester in any danger. She definitely didn't want to watch him kill any one. And now she had done all three. She was really freaking stupid.

"I'm sorry, Lester." She stated softly. She felt stupid and really embarrassed.

Lester shrugged. "Too late now, Steph. Go pack a bag." He ordered once again.

Steph nodded as she made her way to her bedroom. She packed a bag, only keeping to the essentials, t-shirts, jeans, pjs, panties, bras, and her personal care products such as her shampoo and anti-frizz hair stuff and of course her make-up. She added another pair of tennis shoes, but that was it. She was now packed. And of course she would take Rex with her.

She stepped back out into the living room finding Lester on his phone, texting. "I'm ready to go." She announced.

Lester cocked his head to look at her, nodding. "The rat is already in my truck. And I cleaned out your refrigerator. Grabbed your peanut butter and olives and other junk food." He snickered on the last part.

She scoffed. "A girl needs her chocolate, Lester." She practically whined, defending herself.

Ushering her out the door, he replied. "Chocolate, yes, but what you had in that refrigerator would send the healthiest person in a diabetic coma, Steph."

She shrugged. "I've been stressed lately." Was her answer.

Lester didn't have a reply for that she gathered since he stayed silent. They made their way to RangeMan in silence. That is until they passed the turn off for RangeMan and continued going straight.

"Where are you going?"

"My house." He grunted out in reply.

"Oh."

Things got quiet again for a while. They continued to drive as Steph's mind continue to run in several different directions. She knew she brought this all on herself. She made the idiotic decision to follow Lester, to discover what he was hiding and because she couldn't mind her own business, she was now in trouble. Whoever was blackmailing Lester now had a bounty on her head. And if she was being honest with herself, she probably put Lester in danger as well. Even knowing all that, she still wanted answers. Only she didn't think Lester would give them to her.

"Can I ask a few questions?" She questioned cautiously.

Lester glanced at her before turning back to the road. "You can ask but I can't say I'll answer them." He responded honestly.

Steph nodded. "How about I ask a question and if you can't or won't answer just say pass."

Lester nodded his consent but stayed quiet.

She took a deep breath. "Are you being blackmailed?"

He gave her another look. This one she couldn't decipher. "Pass."

She sighed. "Why were you at my apartment?"

"I told you I would be there soon. I just needed to clean up a mess. I was right behind you. I told you this."

"Oh…" She thought back to the moment on the gravel road and he was right, he did say that. "How much is the bounty?"

"Half a mil."

Steph gasped. "Why so much?"

"Because you know too much and seen too much."

Steph pondered that for a minute. She really was stupid as hell. "So that guy in the kitchen was sent there to kill me."

"He had a butcher knife, Stephanie. What the fuck do you think he was there to do?"

Steph's mouth dropped open and she stared at Lester in shock. "How did you know about the knife? I never told you?" She whispered, barely able to get the words out.

He cut her a look. "Fuck, Steph, get that fucking look off your face. That guy wasn't me."

"Then how?" She asked again.

"How the fuck do you think?" Was his response.

All Steph could think was the guy on the phone, the one who put the bounty on her head told him. Why she didn't know, but she would before this was all over. She decided to go back answering questions.

"Is the same guy blackmailing you the one who wants me dead?"

"Pass."

She chewed on her lip, thinking of her next question. She decided to go for it. "Are you killing people?"

He growled. "Pass."

She wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "Does Ranger know about all this?"

"Pass."

Okay… fine… "Why can't Ranger keep me safe?"

Lester was silent for so long she wasn't so sure he was going to answer. "Ranger can't get involved."

"So you're alone in all this." Steph stated more than asked.

Lester changed the subject. "I hope you're prepared."

"For what?"

"We're going running in the morning."

"I ain't running nowhere." Steph protested.

"Joined at the hip, Stephanie. Which means where I go, you go and every morning, I run five miles. Tomorrow I'll start small for you, but you are running with me and you'll be starting self-defense lessons tomorrow as well. And don't bothering arguing either."

She huffed out a breath, but didn't argue. "What about when you go to work tomorrow? To RangeMan?"

"You'll be coming with me, Steph."

"They're going to wonder why we're arriving together. What are you going to tell them?"

For the first time in weeks, Lester flashed her a dimpled smile and Steph swooned. "I've been thinking about that and I've decided until all this shit is over, you're gonna be my girlfriend."

Steph let a gasp and preceded to choke on her own breath. "What?!" She exclaimed loudly.

Lester shrugged. "Less questions that way. I'll the others that we're now seeing each other and you're living with me?"

Steph felt the shiver go down her spine at his statement, but her mind had so many questions. So many reasons why this wouldn't work.

"What about Ranger?"

Lester turned to look at her and she let out a small gasp of fear. His eyes were almost black and his face went all dark and evil.

"Fuck Ranger."