The fuck?“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Easy, man. I meant no disrespect. Just that, you’re the lone wolf type when it comes to women. You know, no relationships. That sort of thing.”
Matt scowled. “Doesn’t mean I can’t empathize, for fuck’s sake.”
“Like I said, my bad.”
A few seconds of silence passed before Derek spoke again. “Well that’s all I wanted. I’ll keep workin’ on that trace to figure out the source of the payments. In the meantime, let me know if you find anything in those files you want me to dig deeper on.”
Something about the way D said that last part made Matt’s ears perk up. “You have something particular in mind?”
“Me? Nope. Just meant let me know ifyoucome across something that doesn’t add up for you.”
Derek was acting a bit strange, but that wasn’t necessarily unusual for the former SEAL. “Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
Matt ended the call and set the phone back down onto the table. Shit. He hated the idea of having to tell Kat her friend and colleague was guilty as hell.
See? Things have changed.
Before, he’d have looked for any and every way he could find to cause her as much pain as she’d caused him. Dick move, he knew. At least Matt was man enough to admit it.
But now, he suddenly found himself wanting to protect her again. To shield her from the pain and grief he knew she’d experience once he broke the news to her.
He pictured the way she’d looked back at him in the shower. The way her pupils had dilated with an unmistakable heat when she’d realized what he’d been doing before she stormed in.
Matt allowed himself a moment to relish in the emotion he’d seen pouring out from behind those guarded eyes when Kat had been riding him, inches from where he sat now.
Those weren’t the looks one got from a cold, uncaring person. It was the way Nate’s and Kole’s wives looked at them when they thought no one else was paying attention.
Shit.Matt blinked, fighting to accept what he realized was happening. Whether he wanted it to or not, the hard, unbreakable wall he’d erected around his broken heart that day on the pier was beginning to crack.
For the first time in years, he began to consider the possibility that he’d been wrong about her all along. After all, they were just kids when she’d broken up with him. Maybe it hadn’t been some game to her, after all.
Matt guessed it was possible his lower social status wasn’t the driving force behind her decision to end things. Maybe her feelings for him had simply changed.
If that was the case, could he really fault her for that? People fell in and out of love all the time. It was one of the reasons he avoided it altogether.
Was that it? Was it possible Kat wasn’t the vicious, vindictive woman he’d come to believe? He looked down at the file again.
There’s nothing in here you need to know.
She’d warned him away from seeing what was in there, but hell. That was like telling a little kid not to press the big, red button.
Resting his elbows on his knees, Matt put his head into his hands and sighed. Being indecisive wasn’t his thing. He knew what he wanted, when he wanted it, and most of the time, he got it.
The confusion swirling around inside him now was unfamiliar territory. And Matt fucking hated it.
Screw it.
He reached for the folder, his fingertips barely brushing against the thick, smooth cover when his phone began to ring again. This time it was Kole.
After a quick conversation about the cabin, supplies, and some razzing about his being locked away with a beautiful woman he used to sleep with, Matt ended the call.
Once again, he reached for the folder. Once again, his phone rang.
“Jesus Christ, what now?”
