Free Halfling (Black Petals Book 1) by Tarisa Marie Page B

really to believe all of this? Has he lied to me yet? No, but he has refrained from telling me the whole truth. He’s sort of known what’s been going on from the beginning, and he’s kept it from me.
    “Do you have proof?” I ask him, throwing my hand on my hip with sass. I know this is silly. The ring is enough proof.
    He nods. “Proof that what? Proof I own this ring? It has my name on the inside of it, Megan.”
    “Proof that you’re somehow coincidentally related to the guy my father killed in an entirely different province across the country twenty years ago? What are the chances?”
    “Not really,” he admits, a frown creeping onto his face like he never thought I’d ask this.
    “Well, I don’t believe you then. This is ridiculous.” I throw my hands up in the air in frustration. “What is this family business anyways? What do you guys do? Oh, and why do our families hate each other?”
    “The family business is confidential. As for the reason we hate each other, it’s just how it is. I can’t explain it to you.”
    I roll my eyes. So he came here to tell me what exactly? That he can’t tell me anything. “You act like you come here to give me all of this information. I think it’s just an excuse for you and me not to hang out anymore. I think you’re making all of this up, because I crossed a line the other night, and you just want to get as far from me as possible. Did you even mean what you said the other night? Do you even have feelings for me, or did you just say that to make me feel better? Because I honestly don’t even know why I kissed you. I don’t feel that way about you at all. I don’t know what happened.”
    He tilts his head at me. “Megan.” Hurt fills his eyes, and I know he wasn’t lying. He has feelings for me, and I’ve just crushed his heart. Guilt becomes abundant in my heart. Oh, fuck, now I’ve done it.
    “What, Crispen?!” this comes out far colder than I mean it to.
    He shakes his head slowly as if in defeat. “You know how you were afraid of being followed home after you were kidnapped? Well, you were. Those men you got involved with, they have been following you since that day. The only reason that they, or one of their minions, haven’t killed you yet is that I’m always around to protect you. I don’t understand why they didn’t just get rid of you while they had you. They’re outside almost every night and sometimes even during the day.”
    “What are you talking about? That’s impossible. I’m not stupid, you know. What about all those times you’re at work? Why couldn’t they come then, huh? How do you know that they were outside anyway? Do they call and tell you? Do you see through walls and see them watching us, because I’ve never seen them!”
    “Because I haven’t been at work, Megan! I quit weeks ago! I pretend to go to work or get called into work, when I’m out tracking down those idiots with my sister or trying to knock their heads off! You called the hospital yourself! I’m not an employee there,” he shouts, obviously becoming frustrated too. I’ve never seen him lose his temper, not once.
    “I still don’t believe you. That doesn’t make what you say any easier to believe you know.” I take a quick step backwards, and I’m about to slam the door in Crispen’s face when his hand shoots out and holds the door open.
    “I was never your neighbor. Just like your kidnappers, I saw your father’s ring on your finger, and it made me curious. If you were wearing a ring like mine, that meant that you were like me, or so I thought. I quickly discovered that you were the opposite of me and upon hearing your story, I realized that you were tossed into a huge, centuries-long battle that you had no idea about,” Crispen rants, his face becoming red with…anger? Annoyance? Frustration?
    His anger is almost scary . I don’t like that he’s upset.
    When he sees the shock on my face, he stops, takes a step backwards, drops his gaze