Owen shakes his head, and I think he’s going to finally step away from me, but he doesn’t. “I told him I’d give him a job. Idid nottell him he could haveyourjob.”
“It’s the only job he was qualified for that was in the pay range he demanded.” I pause, realizing something. “He doesn’t start until Monday. How’d you find out?”
Owen’s eyes sharpen. “For some reason, Parker thought it would be a good idea to invite him to his party, and sure enough, Peyton couldn’t stop talking my ear off about his new position.”
I stifle yet another laugh.
Owen narrows his gaze and takes another small step toward me. “I see you find this very amusing, Miss Riley, but I do not. I snapped when he started talking aboutyou.”
My eyes widen, and I can’t help the “oh shit” that escapes my mouth.
“That’s right, Miss Riley. I wasn’t too keen on how he was speaking about you.”
I jump in to defend Peyton for some odd reason and start rambling like an idiot. “He apologized for touching me. He told me it was only to get under your skin to get you to listen to him, which I think was genius and worked very well.”
I look up to find Owen glaring at me, and so I just keep going like the dumbass I am. “And he promised he’d never do it again, and he did everything I asked him to do, and he helped us get you out of jail, and he helped me get off with no jail time in my own trial, and the crime syndicate is no more, and he played ahugerole in that, and I just couldn’t say no when he asked for my job.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and scrunch my face up, ready for his harsh retaliation.
When I’m met with silence, I crack one eye open to find him watching me with a slight grin.
I punch his shoulder before I can stop myself. “You asshole! You knew all of this and made me stand there and ramble like a complete fucking idiot.”
All Owen says is “Edwin” before he actually laughs.
I huff and turn to walk away, but he grabs my bleeding hand and holds it gently, giving me an out if I want one.
His face softens, the smile disappearing as he stares down at the carnage of my knuckles.
I open my mouth to say something, but snap it shut again, slowly pulling my hand away.
“You knew from the beginning what I’d done?” he asks, still staring at my now-absent hand.
It isn’t really a question, but I nod. My voice shakes as I explain. “I knew what you were suspected of doing. When I got to know you, though, I wanted to believe it was all a misunderstanding. I didn’t want to believe it was true.”
My hands itch to touch him, and I curl them into fists to stop myself. His eyes track my movement.
“Why?” his voice cracks as he says it.
“Fuck Owen, if you haven’t figured out why by now… Did you not see the people who showed up for your trial? Who showed up foryou?Who decided they didn’t give a fuck what you’d done because you’ve created a better world for every one of them?”
I don’t know how, but suddenly Owen is closer. Close enough that his familiar scent washes over me, and I suddenly can’t breathe.
“What you did for me…” Owen stumbles over his words. “What you did… How can I ever thank you?”
“Thank me?” I shake my head. “You shouldn’t be thanking me. I lied to you. I was the person responsible for putting you behind bars in the first place. I let you believe I was a different person.”
I can’t find it in me to meet his eyes, so I stare at his broad chest. My nails are now digging into my palms so hard that droplets of blood form.
“Are you a different person?” he asks.
My head shoots up, and I narrow my gaze, not understanding his question.
“The way you were with me was that you, or was it an act?”
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying and failing so miserably at hiding my emotion. When I open them, a single tear slides free, tumbling down my cheek. “At first, it was an act. You were just another target. But damnit if I wasn’t absolutely livid at how fast you were able to tear down every wall and boundary I’d put around myself the moment my father was murdered. Iwantedit to be an act. I was so desperate to keep my distance and yet I…couldn’t.”
I finally look into his beautiful green eyes to find them glassy, but he doesn’t say anything, so I continue with my rambling. “You weaseled your way so easily into my life. It felt as if you belonged there. Like you’d always been there. And fuck did I want to murder those naked women in your office. I’d never felt so…” I trail off.
