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TWELVE
Jack was lounging on the couch in jeans and a t-shirt, tablet in hand when I came out of the bedroom.
Wisely, he said nothing.
“Rhode say what was urgent?” I asked.
Jack’s lips twitched.
“Nope.”
I grabbed my phone off the bar top and requested, “When Atlee comes out see what she wants for lunch, would you?”
“Sure.”
Another twitch that pulled into a smile.
“What?”
“What? What?” he obstinately returned.
“Why are you smiling?”
“The sun’s up, it’s a beautiful day, what’s not to smile about?”
I couldn’t hold back my growl of annoyance.
“For someone who just got laid it sure didn’t improve your disposition,” he remarked. “Thought you’d come out whistling a tune.”
I’d never whistled a tune in my life.
And my disposition would’ve been better if I hadn’t lost my mind and fucked Atlee without a condom. Or if I hadn’t given into my need and demanded her to sleep with me the night before.
Back in Idaho I’d thought it had been a fluke. I’d thought that I’d been so exhausted from multiple rounds of mind-blowing sex that I’d fallen into a dreamless sleep and slept soundly. Especially that first morning when Atlee had been able to slip out on me. But after last night I knew it was just her. She calmed me, quieted the always present noise in my head. Then there was taking her bare. That was even more concerning. I’d never been so caught up in my need for a woman that I didn’t take the time to use a condom. Not since my wife, had I fucked anyone without protection. I had no desire to share the kind of intimacy that required. Yet, with Atlee I must’ve subconsciously craved it.
No woman could turn me on to the point I lost control.
But she had.
A smarter man would cut her loose. She was too young to take on my brand of baggage. Way too good for the likes of me. Twelve years later and I was still hung up on my wife’s death. I couldn’t protect Barb. What the hell made me think I could take care of Atlee? I couldn’t. I’d let her down. I couldn’t be trusted to love anyone. Especially Atlee.
Disregarding Jack’s comment was my best course of action. I’d hand-picked each member of my team, meaning I’d only hired the best. They were far from stupid; they could sniff a weakness from a mile away and exploit it.
Atlee was my weakness.
Jack would home in on it and wouldn’t stop until he’d torn my life apart trying to heal my wounds.
Never gonna happen.
I went to my missed calls and tapped the screen to connect the call and put it on speaker.
“Evasion,” Jack mumbled. “That’s textbook Wilson.”
I gritted my teeth waiting for Rhode to answer.
“Found something interesting,” Rhode cut to it. “Is Jack with you?”
“Yeah, and you’re on speaker.”
