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“I’m busy that day too.” I stared at my book without seeing the words. Maybe I should’ve considered his offer. But I couldn’t. I refused to let myself go there. I had enough self-preservation left in me, not that it had graced me with its presence the last few times we were alone together.
“If you think saying no will send me on my way, you got another thing coming. I meant what I said. Been waiting ten fucking years for you. You’re mine. You’ve been mine for as long as I can remember. I don’t care how much or how long I gotta fight to get it through that head of yours.” His tone was gruff and left no room for argument.
“I’m not sure where the wires crossed in your brain, but maybe you should go see a doctor for it.”
“Were my wires crossed when I was buried inside you? When you were moaning my name?” He leaned in until his face was inches from mine. “Gotta say, I like the scratch marks you left behind. Reminds me of you every time I get a peek.”
I grabbed my bag only to have it snatched from my hand.
“You don’t believe me, that’s fine. We may have been apart a long time, but I still know you.” Reaper’s grip tightened around the handle of my bag. “Face it, Peyton. You’re a little weird. You have conversations in your head. You go quiet and then can’t stop talking and it’s hard for others to keep up. Your job is scary, but it’s cool because you love what you do, and I only want what makes you happy. Which, when you come to your senses, you’ll realize is me.”
Rage lashed at me so fast it almost knocked me off the couch. “Let’s face the facts. You aren’t worth the headache of teaching you how to be a boyfriend. I don’t have the energy or the inclination to date men who require training.” I let out a harsh laugh. “You aren’t worth it. Take that little crush or whatever you want to call it and run along.” I couldn’t control the words that spilled from my mouth. Everything he said was a lie. There’s no way he wanted me back then. Not with the way he treated me.
Reaper searched my face. The only thing he’d find was anger. Despite my best intentions, I couldn’t shove down the emotions brought up by the memory of what he’d said to me. But the girl he rejected wasn’t the woman sitting beside him.
I was different. Stronger. I saw the world through a completely different lens, and I believed him when he told me he was sorry for the stupidity of his youth. I’d been young and stupid too. I couldn’t hold it against him, not anymore. I could forgive without forgetting. But forgiving him would mean I needed to start trusting him.
“I’m sorry, Pey?—”
“I know you’re sorry.” I scrubbed my hands over my face and sighed. “And I told you I forgave you. I thought I had forgiven you. But I mean it this time. I forgive you. Let’s both move on from our mistakes.” I reached for my bag, but he pulled it out of my reach. I needed to get out of here, get away from him. “Give it back.”
“Am I interrupting?” Griffin asked. Of course he’d show up at this moment. I couldn’t decide if I was thankful or annoyed with the interruption.
“Detective Douchebag, can’t you tell you’re interrupting?” If I were in a better mood, I would have laughed.
Griffin said something, and I used the momentary distraction to snatch my bag from Reaper and bolt away. The two men called after me to stop, but I kept going. The two of them could have their little pissing match without me.
ChapterTwenty
PEYTON
I spottedBetty walking into our office in the reflection on my monitor. She stopped, surveyed the room, them came straight toward me and knocked on my desk. I debated leaving my headphones on and ignoring her. I was in the zone. She could get someone else to work on whatever she needed. Anyone else.
Betty leaned a hip on my desk and flicked the plastic over my ear. Shit. She wasn’t going anywhere. I pulled my headphones off and leaned back in my chair. “Yeah?”
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so cranky, but I couldn’t help it. Over the past week, my world had been flipped upside down. I couldn’t stop thinking of Reaper, and I couldn’t shake the dark cloud that loomed overhead.
“You’re with me,” she said when I finally gave her my attention.
I eyed the code that was finally coming together on my monitor, then looked back at Betty. “I’m working. Can’t you take one of them?”
Tyler was at her desk for the first time in a month, but instead of handling the mountain precariously balanced paperwork, she had her chair leaned all the way back and was trying to balance a pencil on her nose. Adrienne was one desk over, reading a book in French. I had no idea where the others were.
“No. Lyle Lowenstein’s going to be here any minute. I agreed to a meeting.” All three of us sat up straight at that. “Don’t know if he’s coming alone or not. I’d ask Jessen, but she’s up at State, interviewing that killer. Chris drove her.”
After saving the code, I followed Betty to the conference room, where we waited. One minute turned to two, and two turned to five. I stayed in my spot against the wall.
Footsteps shuffled down the hall, and Leanne’s voice carried inside the room just before she opened the door. “Betty’s waiting for you inside.”
My hands clenched into fists, and I had to consciously relax them as Lyle Lowenstein stepped into the conference room. Everything about him was carefully curated, down to the bags under his eyes. He was shorter than I expected. Smaller in general. Even in his tailored suit, hair combed just right with too much gel, and proud jut of his chin, he didn’t really have much presence. For all his bluster, I’d assumed he would fill a room with more than just his person.
Maybe he did and I’d simply grown immune to men with oversized egos.
“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice,” he began.
Betty shrugged. “I was in the office.”
If the muscle twitching in his jaw was any indication, her nonchalant attitude bothered him. “Right. I’m not sure if you’ve paid attention to the news, but my wife and son were stolen from me a few weeks ago.”Stolen. Like they were objects that he owned and not people. “I had a tip from this area saying that…” He paused and cleared his throat, like he wasn’t sure how to describe the call he’d gotten from Hell’s Spawn. “I got a tip that someone knew something out here. But it didn’t pan out, and I was told that you’re the best in the business.” Lyle eyed me, then must have decided I wasn’t worth his attention because he visibly turned away and focused on Betty.
