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Griffin doesn’t call out to me when I leave the store, determined to walk the rest of the way. I notice he still follows me, though. Let him. I don’t have it in me to care.
Not when I finally have what I wanted, but my heart is still in pieces.
TEAGAN
It’sthe scent I notice first. Even before I open the door to my apartment after a long shift, I pick up a sweet, floral scent that’s completely out of place. I’ve smelled a lot of things in this hallway, yet it’s never been flowers.
I’m pretty sure what I’ll find before I swing the door open onto what can only be described as something out of a dream. Roses. Daisies. Carnations and lilies and peonies and other blooms I can’t identify. Every color imaginable, in enormous arrangements that cover every flat surface. There are even a few vases on the floor. Everywhere I look, there they are.
My apartment has been turned into a florist shop while I was at work.
“I wasn’t sure which was your favorite.”
Mason’s voice comes as no surprise. Only one person could’ve come up with something like this. He couldn’t buy me with my book, so he bought out a flower shop. I don’t even want to think about how much it cost.
I look up from a gorgeous bunch of red roses to find him coming out of my bedroom. As always, he looks hot enough to melt my panties in one of his tailored suits. I’ve missed looking at him. I’ve missed everything about him, in fact. So much that I’ve spent the past week coming up with new reasons to stay away from the hotel. It hasn’t been easy, but I keep telling myself it’s the right thing.
I’m not feeling too confident in my decision right now. It’s a lot easier to resist him when we’re not breathing the same air—and it was already hard as hell. “You really can’t take no for an answer, can you?” I ask.
“You don’t get where I am by accepting rejection.”
“And where did you get?” As much as I want to fall into his arms, I fold mine because I refuse to make it this easy for him. Anybody can spend a bunch of money. And I know he has it—he talked about millions of dollars when he explained it to me. He actually used the word millions.
His calm, confident expression slips a little. “I don’t understand.”
“Where did you end up? Living in a hotel? Making it your entire world?”
“It’s not that simple.”
“You live a life I would always have to be apart from. Don’t you get that?”
I can tell he wants to dismiss my worries. It’s written all over his face—the way he frowns and his already sharp jaw goes tight. It’s his instinct to brush all of that aside. He’s slowing himself down and giving me the benefit of taking me seriously. Almost like he’s trying to meet me halfway.
“The life I live is complicated. And yes, it’s dangerous. And because of that, I haven’t been able to share it with anyone. Even now, standing here in a garden, a part of me still wants to close off before I tell you too much. Not for my sake, but for yours. You have me hanging between what I know is right and what I want. And that’s a challenge. But I want to work through it. I want to because I want you. It’s no use telling myself to leave you alone and keep you safe from the sort of people I come into contact with. You worked your way into my heart when I wasn’t looking, and I can’t get you out.”
How am I supposed to stand up for myself when he says that? I feel my determination softening with every beat of my heart. Since it’s racing, I’m in trouble.
I have to remember what’s real. The flowers are gorgeous, and his words are sweet and overwhelming, but I walked away for a damn good reason. “I can’t stand all the lies and shadowy stuff. I never know if you’re telling me the truth.”
“What do you want to know?” He slides his hands into his pockets and lifts his brows. “I’ll tell you if that’s what it takes to get you back. I’m ready to talk.”
It can’t be that easy. He looks and sounds sincere, but I spent too much time in that hotel to take what he’s saying at face value.
Let’s see how honest he’s willing to be. “The hotel isn’t all about protecting people, is it?”
His lips pull together in a tight line, and again, I know he’s fighting with himself. It might not even be that he wants to lie to me. It’s a habit now. He’s been dealing in secrets for so long; lying and deflecting are as natural as breathing.
“No. Not entirely.”
“The people who need government protection. Why? I don’t need specifics. I only want to understand.”
“The hotel is a shadow government black site.”
I search my brain for any movies or books I might have heard of before but come up empty. “What does that mean?”
“It means that the hotel is run by me and my team, but we are backed by the government and all their agencies, including the FBI, CIA, and the military. We have access to all their resources, but we are not restricted by any of their laws or regulations. The people who come to the hotel are freelancers, most of them former military or retired government agents and such.”
My jaw drops. I let his words run through my head a few times, letting each sink in slowly.
