Page 74 of Disavowed

“Did Jack leave his apartment tonight?” He squinted, trying to make out the driver, but there wasn’t enough light.

“Negative,” Gray said. “A team’s been outside his place since the time he went in after work. He hasn’t left.”

“Gotta go.” Slowly, he released the curtain, then padded back to the bedroom and collected his clothes and boots from the floor. He took one last look at Daisy and then closed the bedroom door behind him. Quietly, he got dressed in the living room. As he shoved his legs into his pants his gut told him someone was either watching him or Daisy. But since he’d strategically parked his Explorer several blocks away so no one would know he was here, he’d lay odds that whoever was in that SUV wasn’t there for him.

Clenching his fists, he let out a steadying breath before pocketing Daisy’s keys and opening the door. He stepped into the hallway and turned to quietly shut the door behind him. Twenty seconds later, he ducked behind the vestibule’s doorframe, staying hidden from anyone looking in from outside.

The driver’s side of the SUV remained in shadow, as did the license plate. From his position inside the building, Dom couldn’t make an ID on the driver or the tag. He couldn’t put his finger on why, but he’d bet his ass it was Smith. He gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more than to haul that fuckhead’s ass out of the SUV and mash his face into the pavement. But that would blow his cover and accomplish nothing. Except make him feel damn good about rearranging the guy’s facial structure.

For several more minutes the figure behind the wheel didn’t move, then with the headlights still off, the SUV pulled from the curb and ambled down the street.

“Dammit.” He still couldn’t read the tag number. Assuming it is Smith, why the fuck is he watching Daisy’s place? Could be it had nothing to do with Dom and everything to do with Jack. He fisted his hands until his nails dug deeply into the meaty parts of his palms. The idea of Smith being anywhere near Daisy lit up his protective urges like nothing else could.

After taking several deep breaths to calm his rage, he turned and headed back upstairs. This was ten shades beyond not good. Had he somehow been sloppy and gotten tailed to her place? He didn’t think so, but that was his biggest fear—that his personal involvement would get her hurt. He had to tell her everything. And he needed to tell her now.

What had passed between him and Daisy was far more than just sex, and he damn well knew it. She’d gotten under his skin all over again in ways he’d never thought possible. Canceling the hotel event would put a serious kink in his op, but it also gave him a massive injection of relief. He hadn’t wanted her anywhere near the Piazza when shit went down, and now he wouldn’t have to worry about her safety.

With that last thought came the true realization of his feelings. Despite how hard it had been losing Anika, the idea of losing Daisy was a thousand times worse. If anything happened to her…he didn’t know how he’d go on.

Chapter Twenty

The drawn-out blare from a car’s horn jolted Daisy from a deep sleep. Her bedroom was still dark and the digital clock on the bedside table declared it was only a few minutes after four. The only light in the room came from the glow of a streetlamp peeking through the curtains. Enough light to see that she was alone in bed. Dom was gone.

She touched the pillow beside her, then the sheets where he’d lain. They were cold, as if he’d been gone for some time. She whipped her head to the bedroom door and saw it was closed. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she threw back the covers in disbelief.

Her feet hit the plush pile of the rug. “Ouch.” She turned on the bedside table lamp to see a metal disk on the floor. “What the—” She picked it up and saw it had corrugated edges. A bottle cap. Coca-Cola.

What in the world was a soda cap doing on her bedroom floor? She didn’t drink soda. Must be Dom’s, she thought, and tossed it onto the table.

The air was cool as she slipped on a silk robe. A shiver of apprehension crept up her spine. She jerked open the bedroom door, and for a split second harbored some misguided hope that Dom would be in the living room, sipping coffee or reading a newspaper. But the hallway was dark and silent, and there was no smell of freshly brewed coffee.

She padded into the living room, which was also dark, as was the kitchen. And Dom was nowhere to be seen. The room suddenly seemed cold, and she wrapped her arms around herself, clutching the silk robe tightly in her fingers. “No,” she cried to an empty room. “Please, no.” Sobs rose from her chest to her throat, but she took quick breaths through her mouth, keeping them at bay.

I fell for it again. I can’t believe I let him sweet-talk me into bed for another one-night fuck fest. I should have known he hadn’t changed.

But he’d seemed so sincere. And when he’d told her about Anika, the love that he’d lost, she’d believed him. God, but she’d fallen for his lies, then she’d fallen for him all over again. Hook, line, and sinker.

“I will not cry over him. I will not!” She clenched her fists as another sob bubbled from her throat.

Keys rattled outside her apartment door, and she spun, breathing hard. The door opened and light spilled into the living room from the hallway. Dom froze at the sight of her. Most of his face was cast in shadow. He smiled, but it was fleeting, and there was a discernible worried look in his eyes.

“Morning.” He flipped the light switch, and Daisy blinked until her eyes adjusted. He shut the door and dropped her keys onto the round oak table by the door. He walked to her—sans limp, she realized vaguely—and rested his hands at her waist, leaning in to drop a quick kiss on her mouth.

She could only stare, wide-eyed. He didn’t leave. She grabbed the back of the sofa to keep from falling down.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” He cupped the side of her face.

“I woke up and you weren’t there. I-I thought…I thought you—”

“Thought what?” His brows suddenly furrowed, etching a deep groove in the skin over the bridge of his nose. “You thought I’d left, didn’t you? Like I did before.”

She could only nod as he pulled her into his arms and pressed her face against his chest. She slid her arms around his waist to his back and let out a long sigh, still having difficulty processing the fact that he hadn’t abandoned her.

“Christ, I’m sorry.” His voice was a groan against her ear. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

But he had, and it had been her worst nightmare. A repeat of a year ago, when she’d thought the worst of him and of herself for allowing him to use her. She took a deep breath and let it out through her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, dropping light kisses on the top of her head.