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I knew his outburst was caused by his own worries and fear, but what he’d said still hurt. Sometimes I forgot how young he was, and I had to remind myself he didn’t mean the things he’d said.
At least, I hoped he didn’t.
We’d barely said a few words to each other in the time since our argument, and he glared daggers at me each time I grabbed my things to come visit Leo. The one night I’d offered to stay home with Momma so he could go out, he’d turned his back on me and stormed off to his room.
My routine with Leo also changed. I no longer went to the club, instead, I waited for him at his place. At first I’d assumed he was doing it for me, thinking I’d be too scared to go back after what happened, but when I told him it was fine, he still didn’t want me to meet him there.
I glanced at the clock on the mantle, watching the hands move closer to midnight. Usually Leo returned to his penthouse earlier in the evening, but he’d been out late the past few nights, leaving me waiting until the early hours of the morning. He was still just as passionate once he arrived, but we were talking less and less.
He hadn’t even offered the ring back to me even though he knew I’d told Michael about him.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, tears welling unbidden. Leo had only nodded and grunted an acknowledgment when I told him I’d confessed to Michael. I’d thought he would be happier about it.
Sighing, I glanced at my phone.
No messages.
No idea where Leo was, or when he’d come in.
He’d stumbled in so late the previous night that I’d fallen asleep on his bed waiting for him. I’d only woken as he crawled in next to me, and he was snoring before I got the chance to say hello.
Fingers curling, anger flooded through me once again. He knew I had to get up early for work, yet he didn’t seem to be making any effort to be sure I was home at a decent time to get enough rest.
Surging to my feet, I strode to the door, turning to look behind me as I grabbed my keys. If this was the way my life was going to be with Leo, waiting around and not knowing what was going on, maybe I’d made a bad decision. I did love him, but I couldn’t put him before my family.
I nodded to myself, pressing the button for the elevator. The whole ride down to the parking garage and the walk to my car I kept expecting Leo to show up. To stop me from leaving.
But as I pulled out onto the street to head back home, there was no sign of him.
Steeling myself, I ignored the urge to call him and let him know I’d left. If he couldn’t have the courtesy to let me know when he was running late, why should I bother?
I was still upset and uneasy when I pulled into my driveway, but I swallowed the feelings and forced myself to go inside. I debated leaving my phone on so I would hear if he tried to contact me, but decided he deserved to suffer the way I had. Maybe not knowing where I was would show him how he’d been making me feel.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Leo
Iran a hand down my face as I stepped into the foyer. It had been a long night. A long week of long nights, and I was glad to finally be home.
Making my way down the hall, I stopped and checked the couch for Cadence. She’d been falling asleep before I made it home most nights, so it was a tossup whether I’d find her there or in my bed.
Once I was sure she wasn’t sleeping on the cushions, I continued toward my room, peeling off my jacket and tie. The room was dark, the curtains I rarely bothered to use drawn over the window, so I couldn’t see Cadence’s sleeping form. I’d been too tired last night to do more than fall into bed beside her, but my dick twitched at the thought of feeling her soft body pressed against mine.
I grinned as I finished undressing, ideas on the best way to wake her running through my mind. What my father had told me two weeks ago still plagued me during the day, but it was easy to push those thoughts aside when I was with her. Every time I considered doing as my father said and letting Cadence go, I’d look into her eyes and know there was no way I could.
Crawling onto the mattress, I reached toward where I expected her to be, but my hand encountered nothing more than my sheets. Brow furrowed, I swept my arm across the bed, still not finding Cadence.
Slipping off the end of the bed, I grabbed my pants and the phone I’d left in the pocket. Light bloomed, revealing exactly what I’d felt.
An empty nest of blankets.
Confusion filled me at first, thinking I had somehow missed her as I made my way to the bedroom, but blue numbers shining on my dresser caught my attention. It was three in the morning.
I sighed as I flipped the light off, letting myself fall on top of the sheets. I hadn’t realized it was so late, and Cadence likely got tired of waiting for me since she had to work in a few hours.
Glancing at my phone to be sure there were no messages, a frown crossed my face before I shrugged off the displeasure. It would have been nice of her to let me know she was leaving, but I didn’t have the energy to hold it against her. Things had been strained lately, and she was probably irritated with me. I couldn’t blame her.
There had been three more attacks on our properties, yet we were no closer to finding out who was behind it. It was bad enough that I was going out each night and checking on the men who worked the streets since we’d already lost one of them. Everyone was working in pairs, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, but it was taking longer to get information than I’d like. We had assumed it was the Walkers, but something wasn’t adding up, and we couldn’t move until we were sure.
