Seventeen

Devlin

Business related or other?

I stare hard at the text message Charli had just sent, and I rub my jaw warily. I’ve always admired how direct she is, but today, her question throws me.

Shit.

I’ve been so focused on building trust between us that I haven’t taken a moment to consider how she feels about my not-so-legitimate businesses. I typically analyze most situations from every possible angle, but with Charli, things are different now that I’ve stopped thinking of her as a possession.

Her question is justified considering I’m in a dark SUV, dressed in a disguise with blood spatter all over me. A situation had come up that I hadn’t been able to avoid, and I regret not being able to contact Charli myself, but I’d been pressed for time.

Lives had ended tonight, and I’d been the one to end them.

I’d also personally killed the two men that had attacked Keagan and his boyfriend. I probably would have let it slide had Charli not been hurt during the scuffle, but I hadn’t been able to handle seeing her beautiful face marred by the ugliness of the world. After I’d gotten the descriptions of the men from Keagan, I’d sent Tobias on a mission to track them down. Yesterday evening, I’d ended their lives. They made the decision to take down two innocent men, and they’d paid for it with their lives. It’s not anything I’ll dwell over, but that’s because I’m accustomed to the world I live in.

A new text appears on the phone’s screen. We can’t do this, Devlin. I appreciate all that you’ve done for me, but I think there’s a line that we shouldn’t cross.

Well, fuck.

I mutter a curse under my breath.

“Sir?” Aiden asks from up front in the driver’s seat.

“Keep driving,” I clip out as I stare hard at the newest text.

She’s ending things. Anger builds deep within me. I’d let her in, damn it. I’d put my trust in her with the hope that it would pay off, and instead, she’s rejecting me.

My hand tightens around the phone, and I close my eyes as I slowly inhale through my nose, controlling the urge to react with violence. The last time I’d felt rejection had been at the hands of my father. Through the years, I’ve made damn sure to never experience this feeling ever again, and yet here I am. I’m livid, but my mind is warning me to ease up and take a moment to think logically before acting.

This is Charli doing the rejecting. She isn’t my father. She isn’t deliberately trying to knock me down a peg. The woman is as honest as they come, and she’s stating what she’s thinking. I need to put aside how it makes me feel and try to understand why she’s halting things.

My life on the outside looks comfortable and safe, but in reality, it’s dark and dangerous. Charli, herself, had experienced it when she’d woken in the warehouse with my gun pointed at her. Had her defiance and will to survive not caught my interest, she’d be dead. How could that not have been disturbing for her? She’s been focusing on me, but that doesn’t mean she can ignore the deeds I do when she’s not around. These are things I should have foreseen as a problem, then maybe I would have seen this coming instead of being blindsided.

Charli doesn’t belong in my world, I know that. Still, the idea of letting her go is difficult. The worst part is the ache in my chest. I want to make it work. I want to change her mind and keep her.

“We’re here, sir.”

I look up and find that we’re in the parking garage at the hotel. I nod and climb out, my thoughts still on Charli. We need to talk and clear the air once and for all, but not tonight. It’s late, and I have more work ahead of me before the night is over.