“It’s okay, Curtis. I asked too much of you. It’s on me. It’ll be fine,” I assure him with a weak smile. “I’m sorry, I need to run. Thank you for coming, and thank you, Sienna.”
She looks at me closely. “Are you okay? You look a little pale?”
“I’m fine. It’s been a long day.” I dismiss myself with a wave, rushing away and begging for the elevator doors to close so they don’t see me fall apart. As the doors slide shut, I see Hayes exit the courtroom, and his eyes connect with mine just before I lose sight of him.
He’s going to change his mind about me. I’m not the strong woman he thinks that I am. The one I swore I was.
I’m still the weak girl he met as a teenager.
Another deep inhale enters my lungs, and I blow it out slowly as the doors open on my office floor.
It’s dark, everyone is busy with their own cases downstairs, or have left for the day. My office light is on, though, shining through my door.
I shove through my door, flinging my briefcase on my desk, and my spine stiffens. I sense immediately that I’m not alone.
The floorboard behind me creaks, and ice trickles down my spine. I don’t move, I hardly breathe.
“Did you come up here to see me, Livvy?” His voice is low and gravelly. I don’t recognize it, but something about it feels familiar.
Something presses against my lower back gently, and my body bows away from it. He scoffs at my reaction. “Bitch.”
The pressure on my back turns forceful, shoving me face-first into my desk, but my palms smack the wood surface before my face does.
I gasp, breathing against my desk for several agonizing seconds before I shoot back up.
I’m alone.
He’s gone.
I know I didn’t imagine that.
He was here.
I’m standing frozen next to my desk when the elevator dings and I hear a triage of voices filter through.
“What happened?” Jensen asks first, looking at my face closely. “You’re white as a sheet.”
“My stalker was in here.”
“Did he leave something?” He asks, looking around, but I still haven’t blinked.
“He touched me,” I whisper, finally looking at him.
He’s gasoline, and I just flicked a match at him. The anger ignites behind his eyes, and it’s exactly what I need to snap out of my stupor.
“What?” The heavy timber of his voice melts over me. It would scare anyone else, but not me.
“I’ll call Malec.” I glance over to see who spoke. And everyone is here. Thea and Nathan are standing in the doorway, but when Nathan turns to make his phone call, I see Callie and Jesse.
“Are you okay?” Thea asks.
When she moves towards me, Lochlan and Jo shift into focus. She’s looking at me with concern, but Lochlan is focused on Hayes.
“He was in here, and he touched my back.” All these people here, and no one saw him. “He got away,” I mumble to myself.
“Is that all? Did he speak? Did you see his face?” Thea asks, assessing me for the same invisible injuries that Hayes did. Her hand brushes over my forehead, and I lean into her palm.
“He was behind me. He shoved me into my desk before he took off. I didn’t have time to turn around or to look at him.”
