AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I tap on the phone to end the call, and a part of me regrets receiving it on speaker. After our conversation last night, my brother was sure that it would take them several more days to catch these men, when in reality all they needed was a single night for it to happen.
His timing couldn’t possibly be worse.
“I’ll go pack up,” Gwen says, pushing back her chair and getting up. She grabs her coffee mug and takes it with her to the bedroom, leaving me and my migraine to deal with the fact that after today, I might never get to see Gwen again, and I have no fucking clue why.
I don’t get a chance to talk to her as she makes it frustratingly hard for me to get her attention in the cabin or during the walk down the hill to the spot where I left my car parked. She falls asleep immediately on the drive back to the city, and a part of me thinks she’s feigning it but soon realizes that she’s asleep. For someone who went to bed when she did, I am surprised by how tired she clearly is.
The drive back to the city is spent in silence, and it’s not until I’ve pulled up at her building that she wakes up. Her pretty hazel eyes blink open and she looks around, trying to collect her thoughts, and when her eyes lock on mine, I am reminded of the first time I saw her.
Was that just a few days ago?
I feel like I’ve known Gwen much longer than that.
“Um, thanks for the ride and for protecting me,” she whispers, breaking eye contact. “You can send me your bill through Officer Riffle or—”
“Stop!” I shout louder than I mean to, deeply offended by her words. “What the fuck do you mean by sending you my bill? What the hell for?”
“You . . . for the . . . I mean, I ate your food and used your cabin and other amenities. I should pay for them!”
I shake my head, disgusted and frustrated by the fact that she thinks I would ask her for something like this. “I don’t want or need your money, Gwen.”
Her brows draw in confusion. “Then what do you want?”
“You,” I say honestly.
I don’t know what I expect from her, but it’s not for her face to go blank with only hints of anger in those pretty eyes. “Don’t lie to me,” she hisses, reaching for the car door, but I grab her hand before she can leave.
“Why would you think I am lying?”
“Oh please, don’t play dumb and pretend you actually wanted me up at the cabin with you. I know you were growing tired of me and wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible.”
What the hell is she talking about? “What gave you that idea?”
Gwen looks away with a pout on her lips, and I realize what they say about women all being the same is true. I have done nothing short of worshipping at this girl’s feet, and somehow what she gathered from that is that I don’t want her.
Could she get any more ridiculous?
“I heard you on your phone call last night,” she finally admits with an annoyed huff. “I heard what you told Officer Riffle.”
“What part?”
“The part where you told him to hurry up and find those men, so we could get back to our lives.”
“And what you inferred from the small tidbit is that I wanted you gone and out of my life?” I ask quietly, fighting to rein in my temper.
“That’s how it sounded to me, yes.”
I resist the urge to bash my throbbing head against the steering wheel at just how much frustration could have been avoided if Gwen had only talked to me.
“Look,” I start, unsure of what it is I am going to say to assure this girl that I meant everything I told her back at the cabin and that she should not trust out-of-context conversations. I open my mouth to say something, but my phone starts ringing. I let out a groan as I grab the annoying device, ready to toss it out the window, but I simply end the call. I turn back to Gwen, but she’s already getting out of the car. I reach out to stop her, but the phone starts ringing all over again.
Fuck!
“Someone better be dead, Matthew,” I hiss into the phone, my eyes on the girl who disappears into her building. Gwen and I have a lot we need to talk about, but since she’s safely in her building, I will tackle this and then go after my stubborn angel.
“Jax, oh thank God you picked up. Where are you?”
“I am not in the mood to catch up now. I need to go.”
