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“SJ, what’s up?” Liam asks after picking up on the second ring.
“We have a problem,” I say just as the front door swings open.
Nora stands in the threshold, and my heart feels like it wants to simultaneously fall through my feet to the floor and also jump into my throat. It’s all consuming, enough to take a grown man to his knees. In the very next moment, that feeling falls away because I take in the convenience store bags she holds in her hands.
Then I take in the, Oh, shit. I just got caught look on her face, and I see red.
“False alarm, Liam. Sorry to bug you. I’ve got it handled here,” I say into the phone before ending the call and shoving it back in my pocket.
“SJ, I can explain…” Nora starts as she comes into the foyer and closes the door behind her.
I hear Sam’s Oh, shit in the background, but all I can concentrate on is the beautiful but fucking infuriating woman standing in front of me.
“I’m not sure you can,” I say in a low growl.
She isn’t in danger. She isn’t stressed or anxious. She looks tired, and she’s limping slightly, but otherwise, she’s unharmed. I’m unsure what she could possibly say in this moment to make me understand.
“I just…” she stutters and flounders.
I fucking stand there, waiting for the explanation that will make sense of what she just put me through. Any resemblance of understanding is lost on me right now.
“You what? Where did you go? And why the hell did you leave without saying a word to me?” I roar.
Sam’s quiet, Oh, shiiittt in the background barely registers again.
“I needed to get away,” she says anxiously. She still stands in the foyer, holding the plastic bags from the store.
She needed to get away? What the hell does that mean?
“You needed to get away? Away from what, Nora? What could possibly possess you to leave without telling me and risk David Miller finding you alone and unprotected? What could possibly be more important than that!” I try to say it calmly, but I fail miserably.
The look on her face is pure astonishment. She’s never seen me angry, and I never thought she would. But at this moment, I’m pissed. How could she put herself in potential danger? How could she put me in a position where I don’t know where she is or if she’s okay?
“SJ, I… I…” she stammers again.
“Brother, calm down. She’s here, she’s safe.” Sam’s voice is concerned.
“Stay out of it. This isn’t your concern,” I tell her sternly. This is between Nora and me.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, willing myself to calm down because of the look of utter devastation and remorse on Nora’s face, but it’s almost impossible. The anxiety I felt just moments ago at the thought of something happening to her roars through my veins like a freight train.
Nora slowly approaches me, favoring her injured ankle. Instinctively, I go to her, taking her bags from her shaky hands. She relents and hands me the bags. I don’t want her to be afraid of me, but she has to understand this cannot happen.
This can never happen again.
“Let’s go in the living room and sit down.” Sam steps around me, looping her arm through Nora’s.
I don’t miss the pointed look my sister gives me. I step to the side, allowing them to pass me.
This isn’t over. I want to know why she left without telling me and why she didn’t pick up my calls or return my texts. Mostly importantly why she fucking left me.
Sam helps Nora get situated on the sofa and places a pillow on the coffee table for her to prop her ankle up before taking the seat beside her on the sofa. I remain standing on the other side of the coffee table. Watching and waiting…
“I want an answer, Nora.” My tone leaves no room for discussion.
“I just… I needed to leave. My ankle was hurting, and I was overwhelmed by the noise in the bar.”
Her eyes don’t meet mine. She’s lying. I know she’s lying. She knows she’s lying. Hell, I think Sam even knows she’s lying.
