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“Three food groups, got it.” He opened one of the protein bars and took a huge bite. “Need anything personal while I’m there? You’ve got shampoo and all that?”
Butterflies batted against the lining of her stomach. No one had ever looked out for her. Sure, her dad would kill anyone who hurt her, but she’d taken care of herself for as long as she could remember. “I’m good.”
He nodded then stirred a spoonful of sugar into his brew and sipped.
She did the same. The dark roast was bitter in her mouth despite the added sweetness. Not that she cared. The coffee warmed her core. She closed her hands around the mug and studied Toth. “Who’s N?” she blurted.
His gaze flicked up to her face then down to the table. He wiped away imaginary crumbs. “What do you mean?”
“From the phone you gave me last night. You said ‘N is someone else’ and told me to call Rami.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I remember.”
A sickening sensation filled her gut, and she felt the acidity of the coffee eating away at her stomach lining. If he’d just been flirting with her when he had a girlfriend, she’d—
“Why so curious?” he asked.
She lifted a shoulder. “I should probably know more about my captor.”
He chuckled. “Honey, you know you’d come with me willingly on any other day of the week.”
And there it was. The charm was back. If she’d injured his pride with her earlier comment, he hadn’t been deterred long. “Doubtful,” she said, narrowing her gaze. “Especially if you have a girlfriend that you’re lying about.”
His head jerked back. “Hell, no. I’m single.” His finger toyed with the handle of the white ceramic mug. “N is Nash. My brother.” His tone was neutral but something hovered near the surface. Strain?
Interesting. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”
His mouth twisted. “He didn’t either.”
She widened her eyes. Questions spun through her mind like a tumbleweed. “He didn’t know about you?”
He brought the mug to his lips and took a sip. “My turn,” he said firmly, setting down the mug. The finality to his tone only added intrigue, but the hard set of his jaw told her the conversation was done.
Biting off another piece of the protein bar, she shrugged. “Go.”
“What’s your dad’s beef with Lionsgate Kinship?”
Her belly flipped inside out and she had to force the thick, sticky bite down her throat. She coughed and took a swig of the almost-sour coffee, washing down the remnants. Her history with Lionsgate was as dead and buried as her ex-boyfriend. How had Toth gotten wind of her past? The full weight of the anxiety she’d been carrying for three years—no, more, because if she was being honest with herself, nothing had been okay prior to what had happened three years ago—crushed her chest.
The air felt thick as Toth watched her, his damn gaze scrutinizing. If circumstances were different, she’d walk out the door.
“Well?”
Panic annihilated all rational thought. She couldn’t discuss her relationship with Lionsgate without unloading baggage. And nothing short of therapy could release the trauma she carried. As memories stirred, her anxiety turned to downright terror.
Terror at the thought of talking about it. Of remembering it. Of feeling it again.
No. She couldn’t. Shewouldn’tgo there. It’d taken her years to get where she was. To be able to function and live a semi-normal life.
Whatever reasons Toth had for unearthing her past he could take right back to hell, where he’d come from. Anger bubbled inside her. In truth, she shouldn’t be upset with him. But anger was the only emotion she could feel without breaking down.
Shoving back her chair, she got to her feet. “I don’t know why you’re sniffing around me, Mr. Holmes. But stay out of my life.” She stormed from the room and ran up the stairs to the loft just as a swell of tears clouded her vision.
CHAPTER 10
Jesus. He’d expectedher to be tight-lipped. Maybe even a little suspicious. But he sure as shit hadn’t expected her to break right in front of him.
Her face had fallen as her green eyes got huge. For a second, he’d thought she was going to pass out. Her shell-shocked response made him ache to know what she was hiding. What he did know was that her anger was a ruse. He could see that. Her pink cheeks and rapidly blinking eyes had screamed that she was hurting.
