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“If Harper cares so much, where is he then? Why are you and Kelsey here to tell me how much he’s hurting?”
Diha blinked at her a few times. “Well, I assume that’s because you said you didn’t want to see him. Harper can be stubborn and pig-headed and utterly obnoxious, but he’s also good at listening to what you want.”
Robin stared at the wall while her insides were torn in half.
Her life was a wreck because of Harper. She’d lost her family and her dignity because of him. But it wasn’t like her family had been there for her.
If she chose Harper over them, did that make her a bad person?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sunday.RecoveryCenter,NewYork City, NY.
Harper’s palms were sweating, and he hadn’t been able to eat. Not since he’d gotten the text from Kelsey that asked him to come by the recovery center to speak with Jessica.
He’d spoken with her on speaker a few times while he was undercover and with Robin, but they’d never met. Not until she’d been bleeding out in the alley.
Fuck.
What was this about?
Harper didn’t know what he wanted. He was at a stand-still. Professionally, he was stuck in a waiting pattern. The team wouldn’t leave New York until Jessica and Daar could be moved to a more secure facility. Then there were meetings and interviews to undergo as the various law enforcement agencies involved with the investigation did their work. But mostly, he was doing nothing. On the personal front, it was worse. He was frozen, unable to act. Everything in him wanted to go to Robin, to fix what he’d broken. But she didn’t want him. She didn’t even want to see him.
Given what she’d lost and endured, he couldn’t allow himself to take anything from her. Even a moment of her time.
He’d known from the beginning that she could hate him in the end, and he’d gone ahead and lost his heart to her.
That hadn’t been the plan. Hell, he hadn’t wanted to care about her, but at some point, his resolve had slipped and he’d caught feelings for her. Now here he was, exhausted, miserable and unable to eat.
The elevator dinged, letting him out on the floor where Jessica was being kept. Daar was on the opposite side of the building a few floors below. They hadn’t wanted to keep the two closer for fear that someone trying to finish off Daar might eliminate Jessica as well.
Kelsey pushed off the wall across from him. “Took you long enough.”
Harper grunted a greeting.
Her gaze raked down him and she pursed her lips, clearly not liking what she saw. “At least you brought flowers.”
He didn’t reply to that comment.
“Logan said Jamie and Evan are giving you an extra hard time.”
Harper didn’t reply to that either.
Kelsey chuckled. “You kind of deserve that.”
He kept his thoughts to himself. Yeah, he gave as good as he got most of the time, but he wasn’t a dick. He didn’t kick people when they were down unless they really deserved it.
They paused to check in with the guard there and get a pat down before proceeding into Jessica’s room. Harper was surprised to see Diha sitting on the sofa under the window, laptop balanced on her knees. Even more remarkable was Jessica sitting in a tall, padded chair facing the windows instead of laid up in bed.
Diha saw him first. She glanced up and smiled at him. “Hey, you.”
Jessica turned her head, but didn’t shift her body. “Who is it?”
“It’s Harper.” He circled around so Jessica could see him better. “And I brought flowers.”
Her brows rose, and she looked from him to the little, potted African violet. “Wow, you do your homework, don’t you?”
He lifted a shoulder. “What’s the point of bringing you flowers you don’t like?”
