“Fiona.”
She looks up, and I take a sip from my mug and wince when the liquid hits my tongue, barely lukewarm. My mouth twists in disgust, and Fi giggles, her green eyes watching me.
“I’m coming with you.” I nod at my screen. “I’m done with the schedule for the next four weeks, and already spoke with Marcus and Gabriella about taking the time off.”
She scoffs. “You’re opening a new pub location, Seb?—”
“And I can take my work with me.”
She shakes her head vehemently. “There’s no internet there, Seb.”
“I don’t need the internet to work on the new menu. If anything, the time away from this chaos will help me focus. You said yourself you wanted to be my taste tester, right?” I smirk. “I believe your exact words were ‘I love putting things in my mouth.’”
She blushes, and, shit, that color is so sexy lighting up her pale skin.
“I don’t need you to protect me, Seb.” Fi’s voice is low with the weight of her words.
She’s so stubborn.
I lean forward and place my hand over hers. She swallows and looks down to where we’re connected. “I know you don’t,but…I heard everything you told Officer Theo back there. You lost your mom, your job, and your girlfriend, and then you spent months isolated from everyone.” Fi’s eyes shimmer in the ambient light, and she blinks rapidly and looks away. I reach out with my other hand and grip her chin gently, turning her face toward me. “You don’t have to be alone this time. I don’t want to be your hero. I just want to be your friend.”
She sits back, pulling her hand from beneath mine, and takes a shaky breath. “Okay,” she says. “You can come with me, but just until they have eyes on Dennis.”
I nod. “That’s fair.” I stand, grab my coffee cup, and place it in the microwave before turning back to Fiona. “Let me send a couple more emails and pack a bag. Do we need to bring some food?”
Fi shakes her head. “No, there’s a grocery store on the way. We can just stop there.” She taps the counter between us. “I also have a couple errands too before we go.”
“Okay, well, we can leave this afternoon then.”
The microwave beeps, and I grab my coffee, taking a long pull of the bitter liquid. It’s going to be a long day.
I jerk awake,a shout on my lips as the room comes into focus. I’m drenched in sweat, but I can’t seem to recall the nightmare this time—just the grotesque feel of it. I shudder and sit up, looking around groggily.
I’m on the couch in my living room, my laptop closed on the coffee table next to me. I was just going to take a twenty-minute power nap, but clearly I slept a little longer than that.
I squint at the window. The sun is starting to set.
I frown, pulling out my phone to check the time, and a stab of panic shoots through me. It’s almost four.
“Fi?” My voice is still rough with sleep, and I push a mess of damp hair out of my eyes. “Fi?” I say again.
She doesn’t answer.
I stand and look around the apartment. Her bag is gone.
“Shit.” I pick up my phone, then pull up her number. It goes straight to voicemail. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I mutter. “I swear to God, if that girl left on her own…”
I send her a text and stare at the screen while I pace. I call the pub while I wait, and Gabriella picks up. “Good afternoon, Brothers’ Beer and Bourbon.”
“Gabriella, is Fiona there?”
“Oh, hey, boss. I haven’t seen her since one when she stopped by for a bite. I think she was going to run an errand and then she said…”
“She said what, Gabriella?” I growl, my fingers gripping the phone tighter.
She’s quiet for a minute before she answers, “Jesus, I donotwant to be in the middle of this.”
“Fuck, just tell me, please.”
