Against the protests of my friends, against Axel’s tense plea to let him explain, I managed to close the elevator without any of them getting in.
The elevator felt like a tomb, carrying me down, down, down, away from the wreckage of whatever the hell I’d thought was happening between us. Stepping out of the elevator, walking through the lobby, I shoved the front doors of the building open.
The moment I stepped outside, I inhaled my first real breath in what felt like hours. The cool night air hit my lungs like salvation as I tilted my face up to the blackened sky, as if the universe itself could answer the questions tearing me apart.
How could I have been so stupid? How could I have thought?—
A searing pain exploded across the right side of my skull.
Then everything went black.
40
WHEN SOMEONE HURTS THE WOMAN YOU ADORE, AND SUDDENLY, MURDER SEEMS REASONABLE. #PRIMALINSTINCTS
AXEL
“You’re a fucking jackass—you know that?” I snapped.
Mathew’s smirk widened. Mission accomplished, apparently.
“Axel, calm down.” Blake stood up, hands raised, like he was dealing with a rabid animal. Which fair enough. I felt pretty rabid right now.
“Someone should go check on Dakota,” Ryker said quietly, but no one was listening. They were all watching me, like I might spontaneously combust. Or commit capital murder.
I jabbed a finger at Mathew. “You did that shit on purpose. But you hurt her, doing it, not me.”
Look at him with that arrogant smirk. I knew I was feeding right into whatever trap he’d laid, but I couldn’t give a damn. The damage was already done.
“See, Frank? Carl?” Mathew turned to my business associates with theatrical concern. “I told you the guy was unpredictable.”
“I’m going to check on her,” Ryker said, slipping away while everyone’s attention was on the testosterone showdown.
“You’re an asshole, Mathew.” My voice came out low. Dangerous. “If you want to hurt me, hurt me. Do not”—I stepped forward—“hurt Dakota. You leave her out of this, or so help me?—”
I lunged, but Blake and Jace were suddenly in front of me like a wall of expensive suits. The influencers scattered to the far side of the room, phones probably already recording. Great. Just what I needed: my meltdown going viral.
Frank and Carl rose slowly, their disapproving eyes sweeping the chaos.
“Seems to me,” Mathew drawled, “if you two really were lovebirds, she’d know all about your other fiancée.”
The room went dead quiet.
Motherfucker.
“You left her.” My voice was deadly quiet. “You had her, had everything, and you threw it away. And you think you can just walk back in here and claim her like she’s some prize you misplaced?” The nerve. “She deserves to be with someone who knows her worth isn’t something to be measured against some new job offer. Her worth is something to be cherished.”
“Well, I’m back now.” He shrugged like we were discussing the weather. “And I’m not leaving again. Dakota belongs with someone who understands her value.”
The way he saidvaluemade my stomach curl. Like she was an asset to be appraised.
“You hurt her the other night,” I accused. “She came tome. She cried on my shoulder.”
“People can say things they don’t mean when they’re confused,” Mathew said, his tone turning almost clinical. “Dakota has always been … impressionable. She just needs the right guidance to see clearly again.”
Guidance? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“Listen to your words,” I snapped, trying to lunge past my friends. “Taking no accountability for breaking her heart. It’s too late to get her back. She doesn’t want you anymore, and getting her upset with me won’t change that.”
