“I’m sorry. You have to believe me. I had no idea you worked for R.I.S.C.”
“Believe you?” He chuckled, but there was nothing but disdain in his eyes. “That’s funny. One of the few things I do remember about you is I can’t believe a fucking word that comes out of that pretty little mouth of yours.”
Kat winced. His words were like tiny, sharp knives. Each one jabbing new holes in her already damaged heart.
“You’ve changed,” she whispered. “You never used to talk that way before.”
“Before what, Kat?” Matt’s face twisted with feigned confusion. “Before you fooled yourself into thinking someone like you could fall for a guy like me? Before you realized Daddy Dearest was right all along? Or before you decided to leave me so you could go off and marry someone of your stature?”
She frowned. “I never thought any of that. I know you think that’s why I left, but you don’t understand what it was like for me.”
With his hands on his narrow hips, Matt glared as he came back with, “I understand perfectly. You threw me away like I was yesterday’s garbage. It all worked out for you in the end though, didn’t it? I mean, you landed the rich guy with a country club membership and Daddy’s stamp of approval. Sucks that he’s dead, but that means more money for you, right?”
Kat was so shocked by his cruel demeanor, she didn’t even know how to respond.You could tell him the truth.
She gave a mental shake of her head. Sure, she could tell him the whole sordid story of why she’d broken things off with him all those years ago, but what would be the point? Hadn’t he just told her he couldn’t believe anything she said?
Taking her silence as an admission, Kat was stunned to see him turning to open the door.
Panic instantly set in. “You’re leaving?”
“I’m checking the perimeter and setting up surveillance. Don’t worry.” His lip curled. “I’ll still protect that rich little ass of yours, but don’t mistake that to mean I care. The minute you’re safe, I’m gone. You can go back to your house in the hills and forget all about me. Lord knows I’ll have no trouble forgetting you. Did it once before, won’t be any different this time.”
Without another word, Matt walked out the door, slamming it behind him as he left.
Kat somehow managed to get to the bedroom and shut the door before the dam broke. Crawling onto the bed, she curled into the fetal position and cried harder than she had in years.
She’d already known Matt despised her for what she’d done, but not like this. What she’d witnessed was pure, to hissoulhatred. The kind Kat knew she’d never be able to change.
Why had she backed down from her father all those years ago? Why couldn’t she have trusted Matt—and herself—to be able to deal with the truth rather than tearing them apart like she had?
But even as she lay there, ugly crying with no signs of stopping, Kat knew the answer. She hadn’t told Matt the truth because she loved him. Loved him so much, so completely, she’d chosen to protect him by letting him go.
So, tell him now!
The tiny voice in the back of her head continued to poke and prod her, but she ignored it. Too much time had passed, and there was too much anger and hurt consuming the great void that would forever exist between them.
The best thing would be for her to stay out of his way and let him do his job. No matter what he said or did, Kat knew she’d always love him. She just prayed someday he’d find it in his hardened heart to forgive her.
Hours later, Kat woke with swollen eyes and a pounding headache. Disoriented, it took her a moment to remember where she was. And who she was with.
The lack of light shining behind the curtains covering the room’s only window told her it was already dark outside. Though she’d slept most of the day away—something she never did—Kat felt as if she could sleep another twelve hours, if not for the incessant headache.
Hating to do it, but knowing she’d end up with one hell of a migraine if she didn’t, Kat peeled herself off the bed and went in search for some ibuprofen. She checked the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, but the bottle she found only had one pill remaining.
Needing more than that to knock out the throbbing in her temple, she slowly shuffled across the floor toward the bedroom door. With her hand on the knob, she filled her lungs with a steeling breath, fearful of what she was about to walk into.
With hesitant steps, Kat scanned the tiny living room, but saw no sign of Matt. With the fleeting thought that he’d changed his mind and decided to leave her after all, she walked to the kitchen, praying she’d find some sort of pain reliever.
Maybe this headache will kill me and put us both out of our misery.
Hating herself for being so dramatic, Kat ran a hand along the wall, flipping the switch when she found it. Squinting against the painful light, she began searching through the cabinets.
Coming up empty on the first two, she saw some bottles in the third one that could be what she needed, but they were on the very top shelf, out of her reach.
Not wanting to mess with dragging a chair into the room to stand on, Kat climbed onto the counter. Balancing carefully on her knees, she started to reach for one of the bottles right as she heard Matt’s deep voice from behind her.
“Need some help?”
