“I’m so sorry, I?—”
I hold my hand up. “Hold on.” Sleep is out of the question right now. I know my door’s locked but I’m uneasy.
“Sit.” He helps me to my couch. “Do you want a new ice pack? Coffee?”
“No coffee. I just need to sit. I moved too fast. Ice pack, maybe.” Felix rushes off to the kitchen while I sit with my thoughts.
I hope that’s the end of it, but I know cops. They don’t stop. They keep going until a problem is solved. He definitely recognized those shoes. They’re just generic white ones, but still, I know his wheels are turning. I guess it explains why Felix was so jumpy in town. Was that man following us? I don’t believe for a moment anyone else was with him.
Felix walks in a few moments later, hands shaking as he gives me the ice pack. “Here um, do you mind if I make myself a cup of coffee?”
“Anything in that kitchen is yours.” I set up the grocery app on his phone so he can add whatever he wants instead of having to ask. He still asks, but I hope he’ll be comfortable enough soon. He disappears to make himself a cup.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
Still, even as I think it, I know there is zero way that man will get his hands on him here. Felix comes back into the living room with a cup. His fingers tremble around it, sloshing the liquid inside as he brings it to his lips.
He sets his mug down, squeezing his fingers into fists before grabbing the mug again and taking another sip. “I’m so sorry.” Unable to take a sip, he sets it back down.
I grab his hands in mine. “Take a breath.”
He shuts his eyes. “I hate this.” The whisper breaks my heart.
I let his hands go. “I told you. Don’t apologize. Just explain.” His knee bounces in the plaid pajamas he’s wearing. The black shirt he has on fits his frame well. He’s skinny, tall, and so damn awkward. It radiates off him, but why does that make me smile.
He’s practically shaking out of his skin. I prefer the stubborn version of him, telling me I need to rest, making emptythreats when I test my limits. “I’m not going to judge you. Just tell me what you can.” Everything is starting to make sense.
“I’m not—” He swallows. “That man he?—”
“Is your husband?” Felix is young. I don’t know exactly how old that man is, but I know he’s at least a decade older than him. Felix looks down, nodding. “How long?”
His brown eyes meet mine. “We were together for eight years. Married for five.”
“And how old is he?” Sure as fuck isn’t twenty-seven. If I have to guess, he’s almost a decade older than me. My confirmation comes when his eyes drop to his lap. “How old Felix?”
“Forty-two. He’s forty-two.” Felix shakes his head. “The age difference never bothered me.” He looks into my eyes.
We’re about to see if it bothers me. “Talk to me? Help me understand.”
Felix takes his glasses off, pressing his palms to his eyes, and I shift on the couch, my knee throbbing. He looks down at it. “Only if I can help you to your room and get you to elevate that with an ice pack.”
“Are you blackmailing me?”
“Bribing.” He smiles sadly. “I’m bribing you.”
If it gets him to open up, I’ll do whatever he says. I stand with his help, limping down to my room. Inside he grabs the pillows on the other side of my bed, puffing them up and helping me lie back. “Lift your leg a little.”
I let him fold a pillow in half and stick it under my knee. “I’ll be right back, okay?” He disappears down the hall, returning a moment later with my big ice pack that’s flexible and a washcloth.
He places it gently on my knee. “It’s not as bad as earlier, but tomorrow you should rest. We did a lot today.” He gets onto the bed next to me, sitting next to my knee. With a delicate touch, he smooths his hand under my knee thencups my calf, massaging gently. “What do you want to know?”
“As much as you’re willing to tell me.” He hands me the cup he brought, liquid steaming from the top.
“It’s just tea. It’ll help with some of the inflammation.” I thank him, waiting for him to gain the courage to talk to me. I don’t want to push him, but I need to know how serious this is. “I didn’t mean to lie to your sister. I just saw an opportunity. I took it. I had to.”
His gaze drops to his lap.
“Hey, don’t be afraid. Just tell me.”
