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“What is that man’s problem?” Fauna huffs, moving into my office to place the cup on my desk.
“I wish I knew.”
She steps aside and kicks my sneakers. Looking down at them, she frowns. “I think it might be time for a new pair. I can throw them out for you if you like.”
I pick them up and slide them under my desk. “It’s fine. You never know when they might come in handy.”
I let myself into Rue’s place and stalk toward the living room, pausing when I find her curled up on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around her. My anger deflates when I see the knife in her lap and the tear stains on her cheeks.
Leaving her where she is for a moment, I head upstairs to her bedroom and open her closet. On the top shelf is a gym bag. I pull it down and start throwing in clothes before tossing in a pair of shoes. I move over to her dresser and grab underwear, bras, and socks before looking around for anything else she might need.
I spot her phone plugged in next to the bed, so I grab it and then head into the bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush and makeup bag off the counter. I toss those in the bag, along with a hairbrush I spot on the foot of the bed and the jacket hanging on the back of her bedroom door.
I zip up the bag and take it downstairs, running it outside to put it in the trunk of the car while she’s still sleeping. Heading back inside, I make my way back to the living room. I take the knife and return it to the kitchen. Seeing her laptop, I grab it and run it out to the car before returning to the living room.
A denim jacket is lying on the wing-back chair, and a pair of boots sit beside it, so I hook my fingers in the shoes and lay the jacket over my arm before I carefully scoop Rue up into my arms.
She murmurs something before burrowing into my chest.
I carry her out to the car. She wakes up as I open the door and lower her inside.
“What the…?”
“It’s just me. Let me lock up, and I’ll be right back.”
I jog back to the house and lock the door, sliding the key under one of the flowerpots so the security teams can get in tomorrow to install the cameras, if I can’t convince her to stay with me that is.
Walking around to the driver’s side, I climb in and ignore her glaring at me as I start the car and drive away.
“You can’t just come into my house and?—”
“Steal you?”
“Yes, that!”
“I can, and I did. You’re not safe there, baby, and you know that,” I tell her softly.
She crosses her arms over her chest, looking away from me. “You didn’t call. I thought you might be done with me.”
“That’s why you went on a date with Hask?” I spit out the word date like it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
“It wasn’t a date,” she says quietly.
“Bullshit. Don’t do that shit again, Rue. If you want to go to the fucking movies, I’ll take you. You do not go out with another man, especially one who is hell-bent on coming between us.”
I see her look at me out the corner of my eye, her expression a cute mix of frustration and confusion. “It really wasn’t a date. I made it clear. We went as friends, and I could use a friend right now, Valen. You disappearing for three days only reminded me that I have nobody else.”
I bite back the urge to tell her she doesn’t need anyone else. “You could have called or texted me.” I look at her, and she doesn’t say anything.
With a sigh, I turn back to the road. “Tell me what happened today.”
“How do you even know about—” She cuts herself off and curses. “Nathan told you.”
“He wanted to know if I had an alibi. I told him I had been at work the whole time. A merger I’d been negotiating was on the verge of falling apart, and I had to stop that from happening.”
“Right, work. I forgot there are normal people out there with normal jobs.”
She blows out a deep breath and leans back with her eyes closed.
