“No. I’m good. I don’t want to be at the clubhouse without you, anyway.”
Is this what Havoc was talking about? Kruger pulling away from the club to be with me? Or am I overthinking things?
“I said I’d think about it, and I will. I’m just not making any promises.”
“That’s fair. Now eat, everything else can wait.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Careful, chestnut. I quite like the sound of that.”
I roll my eyes at him before getting to my feet.
“Where are you going?”
“Just to get changed into something more comfortable.”
“You need help?” He waggles his eyebrows at me.
I shake my head. “No. I can manage.” That sounds like a really fucking bad idea.
He doesn’t push, though. “Alright, I’ll plate up the food.”
I nod and head upstairs, trying not to let it look like I’m running when I know I am. When I reach the top of the stairs, I pause outside Kruger’s office, as it belatedly dawns on me that there is only one bed in this house.
I turn the knob and walk inside, not sure why. It’s not as if a bed will magically appear. I move over to the window and glance out. The neighborhood is as quiet as it was when I left. Hell, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if he bought up the whole street just so I was reliant on him.
I groan. I’m being unfair, yet I can’t help but feel bitter about how the whole situation turned out. I rest my elbow on the desk, looking down at my feet with a sigh. I should have run when I had the chance, somewhere farther than a damn motel.
Noticing something sticking out of the bottom drawer, I tug it open, not feeling even a little bit guilty for snooping. If he wants me to stay here, then it’s better he realizes how nosy I am from the start. I reach inside and pull out the thick stack of envelopes before my conscience gets the better of me. These could be work-related, containing people’s private information that I have no business reading. Except when I move to put them back, I notice the top envelope has my name on it. I lift it before noticing the second one does too, and the third. I flip through them all, finding each and every one addressed to me.
“Delphi?”
I jolt at the sound of Kruger’s voice, turning to look up at him.
He sees what’s in my hand and grimaces. “Fuck.”
“What are these?”
He walks over and tries to take them from me, but I hold them to my chest. “They’re addressed to me.”
“Yeah, but I never intended for you to see them.”
I tilt my head and study him. “You wrote these to me but you never intended to give them to me?”
He runs his hands through his hair. “No, because then you’d know.”
“Know what?”
“That I was in love with my brother’s wife. That I hated you were with him instead of me. That every smile you aimed his way eviscerated me. I couldn’t have you, but I couldn’t stop myself from wanting you either. You’ve always been my weakness Delphi. There has never been a time when I pictured my future with anyone but you.”
My breath stalls in my lungs, my lips move, but no sound comes out as I’m stunned into silence.
“Let me put them away. They don’t matter anymore.”
“No.” I hold them tight as he closes his eyes in defeat.
“Okay, read them, burn them, I don’t care, just don’t use them against me. I can handle a lot, but I don’t think I can handle you weaponizing my love for you.”
