I was too afraid to admit to myself what was happening.
“Answer me,” she demanded. “Say something.”
“No.” It was all I could choke out. “I can’t.”
She folded her hands over her stomach and doubled over like I’d just landed a punch to her kidneys. I kind of wished she would do that to me. But abruptly, her face tilted up so she could deliver a cold glare that rivaled the one my mother used when she felt disrespected.
“You’re a fucking liar,” she hissed.
I’d never heard her swear before, and the profanity made her words stab into me. “Laurel, I?—”
She lifted a hand, cutting me off. “Enough.”
I ceased to exist to her then. She hurried to undo the ribbons on her ankles and yanked her ballet slippers off. Thoughts twisted in my head, trying to work themselves free, but everything was chaos. The only thing I could make sense of was that Iwasa fucking liar.
I wanted her so badly it was painful.
When she slid down off the table and pulled on her street shoes, the atmosphere in the room was frosty. It forced me into action. I grabbed my phone out of the glass and followed her from the banquet room, fully expecting her to turn and slam the door on me when she charged through it.
Derrick cocked an eyebrow when we reappeared. We had to be quite a sight. Laurel looked pissed, and I was guilty as hell.
She said absolutely nothing as she marched across the parking lot, moving so quickly Derrick almost fell behind. When I attempted to say goodnight, she ignored me and shut her motel door.
“What the hell happened?” he asked. “You paid that guy a hundred bucks to piss her off?”
No, I wanted to snap,I can do that for free.
My frustration reached critical mass by the time I got to my room.
I’d lied to her, and if she didn’t trust me, what use was I? She could request a new marshal in the morning, and I’d be gone instantly. There was no other option, I had to fix this. Because the idea of her being gone forever?
It was somehow scarier than anything else.
17
LAUREL
I refusedto shed a tear over Jason Dunn. He had paid for my time on the floor, and for a moment it made me able to cope with the disaster that was my life. But the sweet gesture only made me bitter now.
Calling his bluff had proven he was a liar, but there wasn’t any victory in that.
I changed into my pajamas, crawled into bed, and squeezed my eyes shut, leaving the lights on. Maybe it would save me from the darkness threatening to overtake everything. I felt so unbelievably alone.
Sleep would not come, and I turned on the bed, restless for a long time.
Eventually, there was soft knock at my door, but I ignored it. I was sure it was him, and my resolve to stay off the Jason merry-go-round was powerfully strong. He knocked louder the second time.
There really was no point in not answering, other than it made me feel better. He had a key.
So it wasn’t surprising when there was the mechanical click of the lock, the door swung open, and Jason stepped in. He looked... nervous.
For the second time in two days, I told him to get out and he ignored me, shutting the door behind him.
“I am a liar.”
I sat up, causing the covers to gather around my lap as I stared at him. Judging by his anxious expression, more was coming, but he hesitated.
“I dowant you.” It was the first time I’d heard his voice unsteady. “Badly. But we can’t.”
