“No,” he said. “It’s not.” Then he pulled me back, took my face in both hands, and penetrated me with his green stare. “I don’t know what to do.”
His voice carried so much I didn’t understand. “Do about what?”
“You.”
I felt like we weren’t talking about almost drowning anymore. The conversation took a turn, but I had no idea where. I covered his hand with one of mine and whispered, “You don’t have to do anything about me.”
His thumb stroked over my cheek and then slowly he pulled his hands away. My fingers curled around his and our hands rested on the center console between us.
“We should probably get going,” he said.
I could feel him withdrawing again.
“Why are you acting this way?” I asked, desperately wanting to know, to pull him back.
“You said it yourself,” he answered, untangling our fingers. “I’m like two different people sometimes. Maybe this is just a side you haven’t seen before.”
I shook my head and looked at him for long moments, frustrated. Those few moments when I felt the wall between us slip away were gone; his guard was back up and he wasn’t going to let me in. I sighed and turned back to sit straight in the driver’s seat. After checking the mirrors for traffic I pulled back out onto the road. We didn’t speak any more, but this time I barely noticed the silence. I was too busy thinking.
There was something going on that I didn’t know about.
But what?
I thought back to the man standing in the window at his townhouse and the feeling Dex was running away from something. Maybe now that we were going home, he was worried about whatever was waiting for him.
But that still didn’t explain what just happened between us. He implied that whatever was going on had to do with me. He said he didn’t know what to do about me. He acted as if he were caught. Caught between something or someone and he didn’t know a way out.
I glanced away from the road once more. He was staring out his window, watching the scenery pass. Both his hands were in his lap and his jaw was set.
I wouldn’t get any more answers. Not today.
But I would get them.
He might not want to admit it, but there were feelings between us. Strong ones. But there was also more going on here. Something other than just feelings, and the farther I drove, the more suspicious I became.
Chapter Forty-Three
“Rule - An authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.”
Dex
I knew Hobbs wouldn’t be home when I got there. As I pulled into the garage, I hoped Charming wouldn’t be either. I didn’t know what kind of car he drove, but there wasn’t one in the driveway so I took that as a good sign. He didn’t know when I was coming home so maybe he wouldn’t be here and maybe I’d get lucky and could avoid him the rest of the day. I knew eventually I would see him, and since I didn’t kill Piper, I knew there was probably going to be a fight between us.
The first thing I did when I entered the townhouse was go upstairs and put on my spare pair of glasses. I breathed a sigh of relief when my vision cleared. Thankfully, the trip between my house and Piper’s hadn’t been too long and since I knew the roads, I didn’t have any problems.
I had a headache, probably from my eyes, so I dug out a bottle of pain reliever and swallowed a couple tablets with tap water. Then I changed into a pair of Nike sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. I really wanted some coffee so I went down to the kitchen to see if I could figure out the coffee maker. It couldn’t be that hard.
I managed to find the coffee grounds in the cabinet and was trying to figure out where to put them when I heard the front door open and close.
“Hobbs!” I called. “Get in here. I don’t know how to use this damned thing.”
Seconds later a figure walked around the corner. “Who is Hobbs?”
The muscles in my back tightened at Charming’s voice. “Shouldn’t you be out riding a white horse or something?” I asked.
“Ha,” he said. “Very original.”
He came into the room, filling my vision with red (not good for a headache) and took the bag from my hands and began making the coffee. I decided he could stay for a few minutes.
