Page 144 of His Reckoning

Later, the room is quiet.

Sawyer lies on his stomach beside me with one arm stretched across the mattress.

That’s when I notice it. A circular scar right on the back of his shoulder. Perfectly round, like something burned him.

My eyes trace it slowly.

Then I notice more. Thin lines across his side. Faded but definitely scars.

I frown slightly.

Sawyer doesn’t strike me as someone who gets into bar fights or accidents.

I don’t ask.

Something about them feels … private.

Instead, I roll onto my side and watch him. After a few minutes, I notice something else.

Sawyer’s shoulders are tense.

Not a lot, just enough that I can tell he’s not completely relaxed, like he’s waiting.

A realization hits me.

Slowly, I slide out of the bed. The mattress shifts.

Sawyer glances over his shoulder. “You leaving?”

I shrug lightly. “Thought you might want the bed.”

For a second, his expression flickers with something I can’t quite read, and then he nods.

“Night, Kayla.”

“Night.”

I walk down the hallway toward the guest room.

As I close the door behind me, one thought lingers.

Sawyer Maccini might be the most confident man I’ve ever met.

But something about sleeping next to someone clearly makes him uneasy.

And I’m starting to wonder why.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sawyer

By mid-morning the next day, I’ve read the same email four times.

I still couldn’t tell you what it says.

Jordan is sitting across from my desk, walking me through numbers for a potential acquisition, and normally, I’d be interrupting him every thirty seconds with questions.

Instead, I’m staring out the window behind him.