Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“Fine.” The concern for me drained away and he focused on her. “Do you have siblings, L? And if so, are they as irritating as my younger brother?”
“I have an older sister.”
His eyes lit up. “Do you?”
She didn’t miss a beat. “Sorry, she’s married.”
“No, she’s not,” I said.
She froze. “What?”
Shit. I swallowed hard. “There’s a record that she filed for divorce a few months ago. Sorry. I thought you knew.”
“No.” She looked sad, but also sort of relieved, like perhaps she hadn’t liked her former brother-in-law. “Like I said, we haven’t talked in a while.”
Her statement hung for a long moment.
“What happened there?” Shawn asked softly.
She looked like she wasn’t sure how to answer that, but then she reached beneath her and pulled out a stool. Anxiety ringed her eyes as she sat beside him, her hands woven together and resting on the countertop.
“Our mom had cancer. Kara wanted her to keep fighting, to not give up, but . . .” Laurel was eerily emotionless, like she’d cried so hard that there were no more tears left. She’d used up all her emotions. “There was no winning, nothing left to fight, and it’s brutal at the end. Mom just wanted it over.” Her gaze settled on the stone counter. “She gave me medical power of attorney, and that was that. Mom had chosen me over her.”
I swallowed thickly. I knew a little what that was like, didn’t I? Shawn shifted uncomfortably on his stool and refused to meet my gaze.
“At least, that’s how Kara saw it,” she continued. “I haven’t seen her since the funeral.”
“When was that?” he asked.
Her shoulders tensed. “Six years ago.”
“That was a while ago,” I said.
“Yeah, well, she said some pretty hateful things that are still good and fresh in my mind.” She rose abruptly from her seat, and instinctively Shawn did as well. Our mother had taught us to respect women and be gentlemen, even though neither of us were much good at it these days.
“Thank you for letting us stay,” she said. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to take a shower.”
Shawn nodded and probably had more to say, but she was gone before he could get the words out. I moved to follow her, but angry German came flying at me.
“You’re fucking witnesses now?” he demanded. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I told you,” I turned to face him, “it’s not like that.”
His expression was condescending. “Oh, so I didn’t see you put your hand inside her underwear, and I didn’t hear you say you couldn’t keep your hands off of her?”
My shoulders slumped. “Fuck. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing,” I admitted. “I’m going to lose my job, and it’s like . . . it’s like, I can’t fucking stop myself.”
The house was quiet. I wanted my brother to disappear so I could get back to the illusion that there’d be no consequences and Laurel wasn’t being hunted by the same man who’d killed my partner.
Two partners now.
The thought of her being taken again made me sick to my stomach. She was just down the hall and already too far away.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to explain it to me.” Shawn’s deep voice was muted. “For once, I understand.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“That thing you’re feeling.” He grabbed his coat and tie. “If I don’t see you again before I leave, stay as long as you want.” His heavy footsteps took him to the door, where he turned to add, “I can’t say I blame you. She’s beautiful.”
29
LAUREL
Under the stream of hot water, my thoughts drifted to the invisible clock in my head. How many hours did I have left with him?
Don’t think about it, he’d said.
I’d have to shove it down in the same place where I’d had to put all the other stuff I wasn’t processing. The parking garage. The realization my career was over. The night a team of men came and Derrick died protecting me.
There wasn’t any room left for me to put away my feelings about Jason.
After my shower, I dressed and left the bathroom, intent on finding him—except he was sitting at the foot of the bed as if he’d been waiting for me.
“We need to talk.” His gaze was on the carpet.
Why are you surprised? You knew this was coming.
“You don’t have to say anything.” My voice sounded much stronger than I felt. “I chose to give my whole life away to get where I wanted to be.” I sat on the bed, leaving a comfortable amount of space between us. A professional distance. “I think you know a little about that, and so I’ll do whatever I can to help you keep your job. No one will know what happened between us.”
Except, of course, his brother.
“And I’ll make sure,” I forced the words out, “that mistake doesn’t happen again.”