Ask…
She could. Quickly as well before she chickened out. “Stryker, can I ask you something?”
He looked wary, but agreed with a nod of his head. “Anything.”
“About Patrick, do you ever see his father?”
He pulled to a stop and frowned down at me, his fingers intertwined with mine.
“No.”
“So Declan has never been down to the gym or spoken to you?”
He frowned. “I don’t know the names of everyone who appears, but I get the feeling that Patrick is controlled by someone else so that’s possibly his father. The gym is family owned so it all makes sense.” We started walking again, about a block away from the apartment building, he asked, “Tell me about Declan…please.”
I blew out a breath because what the hell could I say about the man. I ended up saying the first thing that came into my head. “He scares me.”
Stryker flexed his fingers around mine. “Go on.”
“There’s something about him that makes me feel sick whenever I’m in his presence, which I have to say isn’t that often. He asks someone to do something, they do it without question. Even Patrick jumps when his father gives a command. It’s just a vibe I get. I mean he’s never done or said anything to me; it’s just the way he looks at me. Gives me a sick feeling.” I shrugged. “He actually terrifies me a lot more than Patrick, so I’ll be relieved to be free of their family.”
We continued to walk until the entrance of the building was visible, when Stryker tugged me into the doorway of another.
“I don’t like what they make you feel, and I sure as hell don’t want you alone with either of them…but right now you need to quickly get up to Millie’s apartment and wait for me.” He gave me a shove.
My legs carried me inside the Regents building and up to the nineteenth floor. At my friend’s apartment door, I used my own keycard and security number to enter.
The smile on Millie’s face as she turned to look at me made me feel better after the conversation about Declan and Patrick.
“You know, I’m waiting for you to move in with me,” Millie laughed. “And I’m serious about that. You already have a room here.” She came toward me, her arms wrapping me in a warm embrace.
“I know and I love you even more for that.” I bit my lip. “But, um, right now I need you to show me how to stop your door from locking so that Stryker can get in.”
Her mouth hung open before she swallowed hard as a light appeared in her eyes. “Stryker? As in the hot piece of fighter from the gym Stryker? He’s coming here? To my apartment?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes to everything. Now hurry.”
“Yes, Mom.” She strolled to the door and did something with the locks and closed the door. “That’s it, and you better explain before he gets here.”
“That’s what I planned to do.” I took a deep breath and quickly glanced at the clock on her microwave. I doubted that I had much time before he slipped inside and I wanted to be alone with him. “We discovered that he lives in the same building. The twenty-first floor. That’s why we didn’t come here together. Neither of us wanted Patrick to know that we entered together, but I just want to be alone with him. To talk. He appears so lonely, Millie.”
“I get that. There’s certainly something between you both. That became apparent earlier at the gym, even Carter noticed.” She brushed the hair back from my face. “I’ll give you some space.”
“Thank you, but this is your apartment. We’ll go into the other room when he gets here.”
“Your bedroom you mean.”
I smiled. “My bedroom.”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than I was shoved from behind when the door opened. I turned and grinned like an idiot when Stryker entered, closing the door behind him.
Chapter 11 ~ Stryker
I’D USED THE BACK entrance to the building, and even though my card would have come up on the system as being used, they wouldn’t be able to find me. The camera in the service elevator worked but was easily covered. So I’d pressed lots of different floors and sent the elevator up, down, up, and then back down once I’d gotten off on the nineteenth floor. The cameras on the floors had a narrow view, and moved slowly from side to side. Luckily for me, Millie’s apartment was close to where I was.
The minute the camera changed direction, I ran to the door and shoved inside, quickly closing the door behind me. With a bit of luck, hopefully, I hadn’t been caught on the closed circuit video.
It made it all worthwhile though, when I came face to face with my beautiful Evie. I’d been so hard since the minute she’d touched me that I hadn’t been sure that I’d be able to walk back to the apartment, but through gritted teeth, I had.