Adam

“What in the bloody hell are you thinking?”

I tipped my head forward and adjusted the knot of my silk tie, not sure if I could look Da in the eyes. He’d gotten back from Asia over the weekend. I hadn’t seen him in six weeks, but that was nothing new. That was the story of my life.

“So you talked to Ma? Holly? Or was it Sean or Ethan who ratted me out?” Our eyes connected, and his pale blue ones bore into me as he relaxed his hip against the side of the desk. I tried to remain casual. I was thirty, after all.

“Five years,” he said. “You went without fighting for five years. What is wrong with you? And don’t spew this bullshit about doing it to protect Les.”

So he’d only spoken to Ma. Holly and Sean knew about Anna.

“You’re back in that criminal’s clutches, and I don’t know if I can save you again this time.”

“I don’t need saving.”

“The hell you don’t. Look at your face!”

“The guy got a few lucky shots.” I knew that wasn’t the answer he cared to hear, but I couldn’t care less.

“You didn’t come to the office last week.”

“And did the floor cave in or the roof collapse?” I tucked my hands in my pockets. “Listen,” I gripped the back of the chair that was the only thing between us, bracing myself against it, “let’s just see what happens in a few weeks when the fight is over.”

“No. Dammit. I can see it in your eyes. The look. I’ve already lost you, haven’t I?” There was a familiar pain in his voice, and I took a step back.

“I can’t watch you do this to yourself again.”

I raised a fist in front of my mouth and tapped it there for a moment. “Then don’t.” I slipped out of his office, not giving him a chance to respond.

How stupid was I to show my face at work? Screw the meetings.

I tapped out a quick message to Sean asking him to fill in for me again, and then rushed for the elevator.

On the third floor, the elevator slowed and stopped. I didn’t feel like making small talk with anyone, let alone explaining my face. The doors opened, but then no one stepped inside.

When I looked up, my pulse slowed.

Anna stood frozen outside the door, clutching a folder to her chest. She took a step back, her black heels clicking softly against the floor, and I lifted my eyes to meet hers.

The doors started to close, but my hand shot out to stop them.

She kept her eyes on me, and I stood there with my outstretched arm.

I should’ve let her go.

She slowly stepped inside, and I allowed the doors to close.

The elevator descended, but God—being so close to her . . .

Without thinking, I stepped forward and pushed the emergency button on the panel. The elevator ground to a halt and the obnoxious ringing from the alarm began roaring throughout the space.

“What are you doing?”

I faced her, but she flinched and moved back, bumping into the mirrored wall behind her.

I looked over her shoulder, narrowing my eyes on my reflection. My face was a blank mask, my eyes empty. Hollow.

“You’re afraid of me.” I shifted my focus back to her face, to her parted, glossy red lips. “That’s good. You should be.” I rubbed my palms down my face and started for the panel of buttons again, but her fingers softly perched on my forearm, and I froze.

I stared down at her short pink nails, remembering the way her fingers had bit into my shoulders as she climaxed. Her beautiful, flowery scent had me tucking my finger around the top button of my shirt. I yanked at the material.

It was getting hot. I was suffocating.

“Are you okay?” It was hard to hear the soft whisper of her voice over the alarms sounding around us.

“You shouldn’t have left the hotel,” I answered instead, my voice low and blistery. “We had a deal. If you’re not staying there, then you don’t need to go to the center.”

She folded her arms and stepped closer to me, demanding my attention. “I’d like to keep going to the center. But I’m—well, I’m leaving Dublin next month. I told John already that I’m not cut out for this job. He asked me to stay on until Rick and I finish the project we’re working on.” She sighed. “I don’t know how to tell the kids.”

It took me a minute to process what she’d said. For a moment, it seemed impossible. No, I couldn’t let her go.

But that was what I wanted, wasn’t it? She would be better off.

“Sometimes if a conversation is difficult to have, it’s because it’s the wrong one to be having.” I started for the control panel again, needing to get away from her, cursing myself for having stopped the elevator to begin with.

“I told my parents about Jax.”

I tipped my head forward, closing my eyes briefly as my fingers hovered in front of the control panel.

“My dad was about to take his shotgun to the hospital and finish Jax off, but I managed to stop him.” She faked a laugh as if the whole thing was at all funny. The sound of her laughter was still one of the sweetest noises I’d ever heard.

“He sounds like a good man.” I straightened my spine and exhaled.

“Yeah, well, he understood why you . . . you know—did what you did.” She cleared her throat, and I turned back around and looked at her. Her green eyes became glossy, her lips quivering. “I’m sorry I asked you to leave. I was confused and a little scared.” Her chest rose and fell in soft breaths beneath her creamy silk blouse.

I didn’t know what to say. Was she trying to make up with me? She’d moved out of the hotel, and she was planning to move back home. What did she want from me? I kept my lips shut tight.

“You fought this weekend?”

I looked up at the ceiling toward the sound of the alarm. “This damn noise . . .” Irritated and in need of escape, I jabbed at the button, and we began to descend again.

“Yeah, I fought,” I finally answered as the doors parted. I held them open again, this time to allow her to leave.

But she didn’t move an inch, so I exited.

“I don’t want you to hate me.”

I glanced over my shoulder at her as she bit her lip, her eyes pulling me in.

“I could never hate you, Anna,” I said slowly and then left.