“Yeah, get Colton over here now,” I tell him as I carry Hayley over to the bank of elevators.
She doesn’t stir, not until I go to lay her on our bed. I freeze. When the fuck did it becomeourbed? She’s been here for two fucking nights. I only have twelve left with her. Fucking hell.
“Where are you going?” she asks.
“I’m not going anywhere. Go back to sleep.” I cover Hayley with a blanket before lying next to her on the bed, hoping she’ll drift off again before Colton gets here. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” My fingers brush the hair from her face.
“I think I needed to see it,” she says, her voice low.
“Why?”
“To remind myself who you are, to not let myself get too comfortable here.”
“Hayley, I would never hurt you,” I tell her.
“As long as I don’t give you a reason to,” she counters. “It’s okay, August. I know what this is.”
“What is this?” I ask her.
“Temporary.”
Leaning forward, I press my lips to the center of her forehead. “Just so you know, there is nothing you could do that would make me want to hurt you. And this is only temporary until you want to change it to permanent.”
“I don’t know why you’ve never had girlfriends before, August. You’re pretty good at the boyfriend thing. It’s almostbelievable.” She yawns around her words. She’s in shock. Getting shot at will do that to you.
I don’t tell her that it’s not fake for me. I’m not sure it ever was. I’ve wanted her since she walked into my office.
No, it was before that. I wanted her when I first heard her voice on the phone.
It doesn’t take long for Hayley to fall asleep again. I slide off the bed, close the bedroom door, and head to my office. Before walking over to the bar where I pour myself a drink.
“I heard you caught a downpour of metal again.” Colton’s voice has me spinning around.
My finger comes up to my lips. “Shh, Hayley’s asleep. Keep your voice down.”
He looks in the direction of my bedroom. “She okay?”
“She just got shot at for the first time. What do you think?” I grunt.
“So, no.” He nods. Then he walks over and plucks the drink from my hand. “This is not going to help right now,” he says before downing the contents himself. “You need a clear head.”
“So do you,” I mutter.
“I can handle liquor better than you can, boss. What do we know?”
“Fucking nothing. I’ve got the IDs of the guys who tracked us to the tree farm.”
“What the fuck were you doing at a tree farm?” Colton asks.
“Picking out a Christmas tree.” I shrug.
“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”
“Fuck off. Hayley wants a tree,” I tell him.
“She moved in pretty quick. This place looks like Father Christmas had an orgy in your apartment.”
“It looks good. She did great. Say anything else, I’ll make sure you get a matching set.” I point to his face. The shiner I gave himwhen we were sparring the other night makes me a little happy to see.
