We walked, silent for a few blocks, me speaking only to tell him to step down or up on a curb, or when we were about to cross the street. The muscles beneath my hand were corded and taut. Landon might be a CEO, but he always kept fit. His morning routine always included a trip to the gym or laps in the pool of his building. When he’d been shirtless earlier, he’d appeared more toned than ever.Not that I’d been staring.
It took three blocks before we hooked up with a street with actual traffic. I stopped and glanced up at him. “I’m going to spin you around.”
He cocked his head toward me.
“To mix it up a bit,” I added.
He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. I took it as acceptance and used two hands to turn him. He didn’t resist. After three revolutions, I stopped him, trying my best to ignore the body heat beneath my hands and the thick feel of his muscles.
“Are you too dizzy to continue?” I asked after a moment.
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
I guided him back the way we’d come for a block before turning left again. Three blocks later, I did the spinning thing again. Throughout it all, Landon didn’t offer a word of protest.
It was time to take him somewhere he could hail a cab. My stomach squeezed.And then I’ll never see him again.I aimed for a more densely populated neighborhood well away from our warehouse. If we received questioning glances from the people driving past, I ignored them. I’d seen stranger things in Detroit than a person being willingly led around by a blindfold.
Finally, I stopped on a corner I thought would be a relatively safe location, nowhere to indicate where we’d started our unusual walk, and spun him around three more times for good measure.
I let go of his arms. “You can take the blindfold off.”
He took a slight step back and swept the black silk over his head, blinking rapidly through slitted eyes. He focused on me first, then whipped around, taking in the area. With his brow furrowed, he scanned the nearest signpost, no doubt noting the cross section of streets. It didn’t matter. There wouldn’t be a way to retrace our steps.
After taking in his surroundings, his eyes narrowed on me. I swallowed, bracing for what he’d say. If he shouted at me, called me names, maybe then I could get over all these lingering feelings.
He lifted his hand. For a split second, I thought he meant to cup my jaw like he used to, and I held my breath. But then he waved into the street. I turned to see a yellow taxi change lanes and drive toward us.
Panic squeezed air out of my chest. This wasn’t how I envisioned saying goodbye forever, not a rushed event with a cab driver waiting for their fare. I didn’t know what I expected—nothing on the side of a busy street. I could have said a million things on the walk here, and I’d lost the opportunity.
What should I have said?He didn’t want to hear anything that didn’t have to do with finding Walker Hayles.
The taxi stopped beside us. Landon lifted an imperious eyebrow and nodded. “So long, Jolyn.” The silk scarf whispered from his fingers into mine. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” He turned away like he would any old acquaintance who didn’t really matter—a cold shoulder.
My chest ached as I watched him slide into the cab and shut the door, the scarf clutched tight in my hand. His last words gave me pause. I’d never thought I waslookingfor anything. I only wanted to bring my brother’s evil to a stop.
But I was searching for something, wasn’t I? And always perceptive, Landon had picked up on that. I wanted redemption for my past mistakes, forgiveness. And he didn’t appear willing, or able, to provide it.
The cab disappeared down the street.
How dare he?How dare he have the last word without giving me a chance to respond. I turned, searching the street for another cab, ready to chase him down before I realized what I was doing. A defeated laugh escaped me. Was I finally losing it? I scrubbed a hand over my face, inhaled from the scarf in my hand, and shoved it in my pocket.Alina’s not getting it back either.Not when it carried Landon’s linen-crisp scent.
I turned toward home. The twelve-block walk refocused me. I wasn’t in Detroit to seek Landon’s forgiveness. I wasn’t in Detroit to see Landon at all. He’d been a hiccup, a speed bump, and I needed to push everything that had happened over the past few days out of my head. Landon was safe. Hopefully he’d listen to my warnings about my brother.
I must return to my main objective.
Arriving at our property, the gate buzzed open ahead of me. I jogged across the yard. After punching in today’s code in the keypad, I took the stairs two at a time, renewed purpose in my steps. We had an evil empire to take down.No more distractions.
When I walked through the door to the living room, Alina was there waiting.
“I can’t believe you mentioned his vacation house,” I muttered.
She shrugged and led the way to the cockpit. “Those CEO types never use their ‘cabins.’” Turning slightly, she put it in air quotes. “If we’re friends with him, then maybe he’d let us borrow it.”
“It’s not likely going to happen when we’re unwilling to help him find Walker Hayles,” I replied, stepping into Marley’s domain.
“And why won’t we do that?” Marley asked without turning to us. Alina slid into the seat beside her.
I paused, a little stunned. “We need to focus on this mission, not hunt for a man who knows how to take care of himself.”
