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Loïc’s silver pinky ring with the blood red stone—I’d watched the lamplight flash from the stone as he’d fingered me.
Guilt crept in, as though I’d betrayed my husband and the ring was proof. It was silly. Valor had been with us the whole time—had orchestrated the entire evening.
Shaken, unsure of what to do, I slipped the ring back into my pocket before Valor saw. I needed to tell him, but it also felt dangerous—what would he make of it? Hell, I had no idea what to think, myself.
In the end, I pretended the ring didn’t exist.
I put it from my mind.
In nine and a half hours, I’d be flying back to Prague.
And then I’d never see Loïc Leduc again.
Chapter Ten: Valor
[Me] I’m heading home
She wouldn’t get the text until morning there, but I always sent them anyway. It helped us stay connected.
I hated this time of day. Everyone else in my office headed out like their desks had caught fire, but I often lingered, puttering, tidying my desk, sending emails.
After lying awake all last night, fantasizing about Loïc fucking my sweet little Tarryn, I really needed to go home and get some extra sleep. My brain felt muddled.
After three weeks with no contact, Tarryn had decided he would never call. She’d resigned herself to it, and seemed almost disappointed. I’d seen the look in his eyes when he watched her, though. He found her as alluring as I did.
Maybe he needed time.
My wall clock said 9 PM as I turned off the lights in my office. The halls were silent.
I checked my phone as I jogged down the stairwell. Nothing from Tarryn yet. It was 6 AM in Prague, though. She might be sleeping in, dependingon what the shooting schedule was like today. Like an asshole, I couldn’t remember what she’d told me before she’d gone to bed.
When I got down to retrieve my Range Rover from the parking garage, my steps echoed in the empty, cavernous space. At some point, the building was going to need to hire around-the-clock security guards, but for now they clocked out at eight.
I got into my Defender. Should I get take-out tonight or graze out of the fridge? Did I even have food? I couldn’t remember what I’d eaten, and whatever was left in the fridge might have grown its own fur coat since the last time I’d checked.
At first, living alone had been novel. I could eat and watch whatever I wanted to without having to think about a partner. Now? It fucking sucked. Having money was nice, but I got nostalgic about the long hours Tarryn and I had spent waiting in line at the food bank, holding hands and talking about nothing in particular.
The ramp up from the lower level brought me out to the street. Rain poured down, making me thankful I was going from garage to garage, instead of having to sprint through it.
I stopped under the edge of the awning to check for traffic.
A huge shadow thudded down onto the hood of my SUV, and the vehicle dipped alarmingly before recovering.
“What the fuck!” I shouted so loudly it rang in my ears.
God—was it a man? Had I hit him?
But no, I’d stopped well before he’d ended up on my hood.
Where had he come from? From above somehow? Had he fallen from a balcony? But my office building didn’t have balconies.
He was soaked through.
Adrenaline buzzing, I reached for the door handle, then realized getting out was probably a stupid thing to do without making sure this guy wasn’t dangerous. I felt for my phone to call 911.
His head came up and he stared through the windshield at me.
Eyes like ice.
