Colton disconnected the call. He stood motionless for several long and tense seconds. Brigit didn’t know what to do or what to say. Should she go to him? Should she give him space? And what was that conversation really about? That was the most bizarre call she’d ever heard. Wilson Montgomery didn’t even conduct himself with basic business etiquette.
“I have to leave.” Without looking at her, Colton blurted, “I’m losing control.” And with that, he strode out of his office.
As Brigit stared at the empty doorway, she shivered from the brusqueness of his frigid voice. Where was he going in that kind of hurry?The gym!Should she go after him or respect his privacy? The large wall clock in Colton’s office thundered in her ears as she contemplated what to do.
An agonizing minute passed. She needed to know he was okay and bolted. Pushing open the gym door, she glanced around the quiet room. It would be another hour before anyone started working out. Though she didn’t expect he’d be swimming, she checked the pool anyway. It was empty, as was the sauna.
Kitchen!
Elliott and Shane were cooking sliders and fries for happy hour. Red and Dez sat hunched over a document at the center island. Brigit stopped short. “Excuse me. Did Colton come in here?”
They looked at her and shook their heads. “No, dear,” Elliott replied.
He’s changing into gym clothes. She headed upstairs and raced toward Colton’s bedroom. The door was closed, so she knocked. No answer. She knocked louder, then peeked inside. “Colton, are you in here?”
He wasn’t, but light streamed from his walk-in. She ran in and stopped short, gasping for breath. The last and scariest mask—the white one outlined in ornate gold scroll, with the long, white nose and black-rimmed hat—was missing from its hook on the far closet wall.
* * *
Colton had driven allof ten minutes when he pulled the Mercedes onto a residential side street and slammed on the brakes.
“Dammit!” He tapped the gearshift into park. Why couldn’t he be like other men who took out their frustrations at the gym or drowned them in a bottle of booze?I’m not like other men.
Montgomery had gotten under his skin and he had to do something about it. Masked fucking at Burke’s Playroom would relieve his seething frustration.
Brigit had looked stunned. And what about the tiny seed, nestled safely inside her beautiful body? His child. But was it? The baby could be someone else’s. He knew nothing beyond what the background check had provided. Maybe she had a nasty habit of getting sloshed and inviting strangers into her home.No fucking way. That baby is mine.
Dusk bowed to nightfall. The street lamp illuminated the mask on the passenger seat. That thing was scary as hell. Alone, under the cloak of darkness, he could admit the truth. “I’m no role model for this child.”
Though born of evil, he didn’t need to perpetuate it. Time to man the fuck up. Be a better father than his loser of a dad. Now was the time to make that break. Before it was too late. He punched up Ludovico Einaudi on his playlist and drove home.
He cut the engine at the circle, grabbed the mask, and followed the sound of buzzing happy hour chatter into the kitchen. “Excuse me,” he called.
All eyes shifted to him. “Where’s Brigit?”
“Thought she was with you,” Chad said.
“She’s not?” Taylor asked.
Had Brigit followed him again? Colton bolted from the room and up the staircase. Maybe she was napping. He knocked on her bedroom door. No answer. When he opened it, her bedside lamp shone on her bed empty. The bathroom light was off. He left her bedroom, closing the door behind him.
At the end of the hallway, his bedroom door was wide open. He’d closed it. He always closed it. As he ran inside, light from his closet spilled into the darkened room. Brigit was curled in a ball on his closet floor.
“Hey,” he murmured. “Are you okay?”
Sniffling, she turned toward him. Her eyes and nose were red. He dropped to his knees in front of her. Panic churned in his gut. Was it the baby? “Are you hurt? Jesus, what’s wrong?”
Propping herself onto her elbow, her eyes drifted to the mask in his hand. “Did you?”
He searched her tear-streaked face. “Did I what?”
“Did you fuck some random woman in that mask?”
42
HIS EROTIC NEEDS
Who did Brigit thinkshe was, demanding that kind of information? Colton answered to no one. His chest tightened from his callous thoughts.Stop being fucking selfish.
