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As she walked away, he said, “Sierra.”
She didn’t slow down. Didn’t look back. She’d said what she wanted to say and made a fool of herself.
She’d given Cody Parker all the pieces of her he was going to get.
* * *
Three days later, Cody sat at a desk outside of Sierra’s office and stared as his computer screen. He didn’t see the words. Wouldn’t be able to read them if he saw them. Sierra was talking on the phone to a potential client.
Her voice rolled over him. Crisp. Business-like. Professional.
Just like she was with him. Business-like and professional. Distant. And he hated every minute of it. Hatedhimselffor making her act that way.
She’d laid herself bare for him. Told him she wanted more. Said she wanted him. And all he’d done was stare at her. Let her know it wasn’t going to happen.
It wasn’t about the job. Sierra had been right about that.
Mel had been pretty certain the Bratva was no longer a threat. They were scrambling to hide from the FBI investigation and didn’t have time for revenge. She was only keeping him with Sierra, and Gideon with Alex, to be absolutely certain.
According to Mel, his job with Sierra would probably last another week. Maybe two. Then he’d disappear from her life. Exactly what he’d wanted to do.
Or at least what he’d told himself heneededto do.
Keeping Sierra at a distance wasn’t about the job.
It was about his heart. And his unwillingness to risk it.
Hell, who was he kidding? Sierra already held every piece of his heart in her hands. She just didn’t realize it.
He’d hoped to escape Evanston without putting himself out there. Without explaining why he wasn’t good relationship material. But he suspected Sierra would call bullshit on that. Point out that he couldn’t know if he never tried. She was a lawyer. She knew how to argue.
Instead of giving her the chance to change his mind, he’d slip out of town when this job was over. Say goodbye to Sierra and move onto the next job. The next protectee.
He rubbed a fist against his chest, where his heart was supposed to be. It still ached.
Nothing would help except getting away from Sierra. Away from temptation. Away from everything he wanted and everything he couldn’t have. He had no idea how to be in a relationship, and Sierra deserved better than that.
At six o’clock that evening, he heard her moving around in her office. Papers dropped into her business tote. Her phone followed. Then she slid her shoes back on. He’d realized early that she toed off her shoes as soon as she sat down in the morning. Only put them on when she had a client or stepped out of her office.
Moments later, she appeared in the door to her office. Flicked off the lights and said, “You ready to go?”
“Whenever you are,” he managed to say around the lump in his throat.
Sierra nodded and began walking toward the office door. She trotted down the stairs, stopping when she reached the lobby.
The receptionist was gone from behind her desk, as she usually was by the time they left the office. The lobby was empty. But rain was pouring down in sheets. The wind howled. They were both going to get soaked.
“Stay here,” he said without looking at her. “I’ll go get the car and pull up to the door. That way you won’t get so wet.”
“I don’t mind getting wet,” she said, in that stiff, stilted voice she’d used since the night in her kitchen. “It’s only water.”
“No, you stay here. I can run faster than you can. It’ll take me a lot less time, and you won’t get wet.” He turned to stare at her. “All right?”
He could see she didn’t want to agree. That she wanted to argue about it. But rain lashed the windows, drumming so hard the glass vibrated. She looked down at the heels she wore. He watched her realize that she couldn’t run in those shoes. Finally she sighed. “Fine. I’ll wait outside beneath the overhang.”
“It won’t take me long.” He held out his hand. “Want me to take your bag?”
Her fingers curled around the handles and she tugged it closer to her body. Then her shoulders dropped. “Fine. Why not?” She shoved it toward him.
