His inhale is sharp and it burns through me, through the shields I’m struggling to erect, to keep in place so I can get the fuck out of here.
If the criminal organization that now owns my life was speaking in my ear, they’d tell me to lean in to that sharp breath, to use my body to distract him so I can extricate myself from this scenario.
But that won’t work.
Because he sees me now.
And even though he was the one who left me, who pushed me away, who destroyed the small slice of happiness I held?—
“Don’t look at me like that,” I snap.
He doesn’t move. “Like what?” he asks hoarsely.
“Like you miss me.”
“Raindrop—”
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t want to break things off,” he says. “I swear I didn’t.”
I snort, keep removing pins. “You could have fooled me,” I mutter. “What with you leaving me at the altar and all.”
“Briar.” He sighs. “I left because?—”
“I don’t care anymore,” I say, even though I do care. I caretoofucking much.
He’s quiet. “I had to leave.”
“Right,” I mutter then lift my chin. “I need to go.”
There’s a pause, long enough that my gaze is drawn back to his, and I see it, right there in his eyes.
He’s not going to let me leave.
Dammit.
“Why’d you do it?”
I pause, hands dropping to my sides, hair falling forward to tickle my face. “Do what?” I hedge, even though I know exactly what he’s talking about.
“Steal the flash drive.”
“I had to. Same as you”—I make finger quotes—“hadto leave me at the altar on our wedding day.”
“No,” he says. “I had to leave because otherwise they would have taken you.”
I freeze, ice skittering down my spine. “What?”
“You know my father worked with people who were”—he shakes his head and that ice grows—“unsavory in their business practices. They didn’t like that I pulled out of those shared endeavors and made it very clear what would happen to you if I didn’t join forces with them again.”
“What?” I ask again.
“I tried to—” He looks away. “I tried to keep you safe—tried so fuckinghard.” His voice drops to a whisper. “But, in the end, the only thing I could do was leave.”
My heart thuds hard against my ribs.
“I loved you enough to let you hate me.”
