“We had a contract.”
Had?
She sucked in a harsh breath. “You’re breaking up with me?”
He laughed. It wasn’t a pretty sound. “This isn’t high school, Ria. I take this very seriously. Our contract obviously doesn’t mean as much to you as it does to me if you can break the rules so easily. What you did tonight was reckless and stupid.”
But she hadn’t meant to be reckless. She just hadn’t been thinking. Story of her life. She never thought before she acted. He was right. Safety was a big deal to him. This wasn’t something little he could just get over.
Idiot. Dumb.
And now she was going to find herself all alone. As they drove on, she tried to concentrate on not crying. She couldn’t start crying, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever stop. She hadn’t cried when she’d left home. Hadn’t cried the whole time she’d been in hiding.
But losing Connor, yeah, that might just be enough to make her lose all control.
She was aware this had always been coming, but she’d thought they would part as friends. Never like this. With this stony silence between them.
They pulled up a gravel driveway. Tall trees lined the driveway, rising menacingly into the night. They drove up to a small, wooden house. It looked a bit rundown. She glanced out at it. “Are you dropping me off here?”
“Of course not. I’m staying with you. Hunter will be here soon with your stuff.”
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
“This is what we do for a living, Ria. He’s not going to find us. No one followed us and Hunter will cover his tracks. Come on. Let’s get you settled inside. You’re exhausted. You need to sleep.”
But would he be sleeping with her? She didn’t want to ask that question. She knew she wasn’t ready to hear the answer.
Two hours later, she guessed the answer was n
o. She rolled over in bed, punching the pillow. She couldn’t sleep to save herself. But when Connor ordered her to bed, she figured it was safer to do what she was told.
Not that she thought he could get any angrier at her. She kind of wished his temper ran hot rather than cold. Hot she could deal with. If he was yelling at her then at least they could air things out. Instead, he was holding his anger close. He was controlled. Calm.
She hated it. Hated this distance. All because she’d been so stupid.
She didn’t feel safe enough to take her hearing aid out. She needed to be on full alert if this asshole came for her. Although Connor and Hunter had assured her they would keep her safe.
She hated that they were in danger because of her. She hated all of this.
She punched her pillow again. Damn it. Damn it. Trevor was dead. She hadn’t liked him, but she’d never wish a bullet on him. And every time she closed her eyes, she’d see him fall to the ground, stark terror in every line of his face.
She whimpered. She hated to admit it, but she could really use Connor right now. She wanted him to hold her and tell her everything would be all right. God, when had she come to rely on him so much? When had he become her safety net? Her everything.
I love him.
The realization was like a punch to the gut. She’d figured out she loved him, right when he’d decided she was more trouble than she was worth.
“How long you planning on giving her the cold shoulder?”
Connor looked up from his laptop and over at Hunter who had walked into the house. “What? Aren’t you supposed to be patrolling?”
“It’s four a.m. Time to switch over. You were supposed to be sleeping while I was on watch.”
How could he sleep when someone was after his . . . his Ria. Fuck. He rubbed at his tired eyes. “Trying to figure out who this Vince guy could be.”
“If anyone can find him then it’s you. But you won’t be able to do it on no sleep. Need you at a hundred percent. Just got a call from Gray. The others will be here in few hours.”
That was good. Exhaustion pounded at him. He wanted as much protection around Ria as possible.