Chapter 26: Angel
Standing in the doorway of his bedroom, I watched him as he shut the tablet down and kept his gaze on me.
“Why aren’t you dressed?”
“Because my stalker was here, and I’m worried,” I told him calmly.
“He won’t get in,” he told me as he put his devices on to charge. “The house is secure,” he spoke with his back to me, and I really didn’t like that he did.
“What if you were always the target?” I asked him.
“I wasn’t,” he dismissed the idea easily.
“How do you know?” I asked as I walked toward him. “The police said that you were the duck because you were always there when something happened to me, but what if you were always there, because it was to makeyoureact?”
“If someone wanted me to react, they would have targeted something or someone I care about.”
I took a step back, but I didn’t think he noticed, too intent on his own self and his own anger. Onyx looked up at me. “Go get dressed.”
“Are you going to work today?” I countered.
“Of course. I have meetings, clients, and people who depend on me.”
Without a word, I turned and walked back to the room. It didn’t make sense for me to have a stalker; it never had. But him? I could see it. What if I were the decoy and the actual target was down the hall?
He was a dick. To everyone. He had to have a lot of enemies. It made sense that it would be him. Was I really the only one who could see it?
Showering quickly, I got dressed in a pantsuit, and when I went downstairs, he was on the phone, pacing back and forth ashe spoke to, or more accurately barked orders at, whoever the recipient of his wrath was.
He saw me waiting and held up a finger as if to silence me. I had no intention of speaking, so it didn’t matter even if he did piss me off . . . again.
“Yes, I said all of it,” he said curtly, and then I saw him roll his eyes. “Just do it and tell me when it’s done.” He hung up and then looked at me. “You have everything you need?” he asked as he picked up his tablet.
“Yes,” I answered quickly.
A knock sounded on the door, and I jumped in surprise, whereas Onyx didn’t flinch. He strode past me, and I watched as Cooper and Charlie walked in. Charlie was already telling Onyx something, but it was Cooper I watched. He looked like death.
“What happened to you?” I asked him quietly.
“Not enough sleep,” he muttered as he headed for the coffee machine.
Onyx was still listening to Charlie, and I moved closer to Cooper. “What if it’s him?” I asked him, and Cooper glanced at me. “What if it was never me and always about him?”
“Already checked and rechecked,” he told me as his coffee brewed.
“Everyone?” I asked in surprise.
“You think there’s a list of people who hate me?” Onyx asked from behind me.
“Yes.”
Charlie muffled his laugh, and even Cooper smiled. Onyx didn’t. “We already checked,” he said coolly as he looked Cooper over critically. “You look like you’re going to crash any second.”
“Probably am,” Cooper told him as he drank down a coffee.
“Balan, let’s move it,” Onyx ordered, and I turned to face him. He knew I was going to protest because his eyes widened fractionally, and I shut my mouth.
Charlie was on the phone to someone regarding the paint outside, and I missed what Onyx said in Cooper’s ear, but Cooper gave a nod, and I watched as Onyx checked him again before he walked away.
