Gray was a whole differentissue entirely.
Thinking about him made mystomach ache.
Pushing him away didn’t feel like agood move anymore. It felt like the coward’s way out. Someone had gotten closeenough to hurt me—even unintentionally—and instead of dealing with that like anadult…
I was fifteen again, andscared. Scared that I was about to lose everything I cared about. Scared that Iwas going to be alone.
Well. I’d managed tomake thealoneparthappen.
And I’d lost myproject and possibly my father’s incredible patience with me.
And Gray. Gray was somethingI cared about. More than I’d expected to, more than I’dwantedto.
Served me right for thinkingit’dbe fun to hire a hookup as a bodyguard. I should have known better.
Not getting attached hadbeen my main life goal for so long that it shouldn’t have been a surprise thatI’d fall for the first person I let get close.
Gray had been nothing butkind to me, and I’d been… unkind. Cruel, even.
He wouldn’t want me afterthis.
I got as far as sitting upon the bed, still undecided about what to do next, before there was a knock onthe door.
My heart lurched. Gray?
I didn’tdeservefor it to behim, but sometimes the universe was a kinder place than I gave it credit for.
“Miles!”
The voice shouting throughthe door hit me like a blow to the back of the skull. Not Gray.
John.
Dammit. Dammit, dammit,dammit.
I’d told him I had proof,hadn’t I? Like a dumbass. Of course he knew where I lived—or if he didn’t, itwouldn’t have taken much for him to find out.
I crept back into thebedroom, debating whether or not to close the door. Would he hear me if I did?
The last thing I wanted wasfor him to realize I was home. To besurethere was someone here.
I couldn’t deal withthis.
“I just wanna talk,” Johncalled out. “Let me explain. I think you’re confused.”
The hairs on the back of myneck bristled. I was confused about a lot of things, but not the fact that Johnhad been doing the wrong thing. That he’d done things that were, ifnot illegal—and I really didn’t know—certainly enough to get him thrown out ofthe company.
And that I had proof. Thatamong the files Jimmy had given back to me, there was proof of everything.
Should I call the police?
No. No, he’d hear me doingthat, and allkindsof things could happen in the time it’d take them toget here. I was one skinny guy in my underwear. I couldn’t defend myselfagainst someone who’d come prepared.
I probably couldn’t have defendedmyself against him if he wasalsoin his underwear, which I didn’t want topicture if I could help it.
“Miles,” he called, voiceraised. “I don’t know what you think you’ve got, but it’s not what it lookslike. Let’s settle this like adults.”
Fear clenched around myheart. He wasn’tjust going to leave, and I had no way of getting out. What if he could get pastthe lock, too? What if he just broke the door down? It wasn’t all that solid.
