Page 97 of Intrepid

“Get out. Get the fuck out.”

I lurched toward her, frustrated when she kicked away. “None of what happened tonight was a lie. I want you. I’ve wanted you since that first night up on the roof.”

“If you don’t get the fuck out of my apartment, Ty, I swear to God, I’ll call the fucking police!” Face burning red, she pointed toward the door. “Get. Out!”

“No.”

“Get out! Get out! Get out now!” She pushed at me, sobbing, and when I reached for her, she scrambled off the bed, swiping up her T-shirt and covering herself. “I don’t ever want to see you. I don’t ever want to hear from you again. Get out, and don’t ever come back.”

Turning away, I breathed hard through my nose to calm the angry tremble of my muscles, the fury simmering in my veins ready to explode any minute. As if I’d asked for any of it. As if I’d wanted to get involved with a woman I could never ultimately have.

Maybe I had asked for it. Maybe that was just the breaks for those of us who’d been dealt a shitty hand all our lives. We didn’t deserve happiness, or love, because fate, or God, or whoever pulled the strings had already written us off.

I gathered up my clothes scattered throughout her apartment. I’d only tugged my jeans over my hips when my coat smacked me in the face.

Anger got the best of me, and I stepped forward, my jaw aching with the urge to kiss her so goddamn hard she’d pass out breathless. Pin her down on the bed and make her understand.

“Sera, listen to me.”

Hands balled to fists, she held them to her temples, her lip trembling with another sob.

I stepped forward. Another step. And another, until I stood before her, and I grabbed her shoulders. “I didn’t want this. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Why are you doing this, then?” Her fist struck out, punching me in the chest. The second followed the first, until she was pummeling my heart. “Stop! Stop it! Just get out! I hate you. I fucking hate you!”

Nothing could’ve possibly struck me harder than the venom of her words.

I released her and stepped back. If pain was on the table, might as well show her all the cards. “I know why you take care of Jo. I know why you feel guilty every time you look at her.”

The aversion of her eyes told me I’d nailed a soft spot, but considering the anger I’d already stirred, I didn’t push it.

“The ledger wasn’t for me. It was for Dax. He asked me to retrieve it.”

“That night at the party, right? How convenient that it’s the same night I met you!”

I rubbed a hand down my face, other hand propped at my hip. “I’ve been watching you longer than that, Sera.”

Her brows pinched together, tears streaming down her cheeks and mingling with her mascara to create black streaks. “What did you say?”

“We didn’t meet by chance on the roof of that building. I went up there for you.”

“Why?”

“Why did you run away from your father? Why do you visit Eli’s grave? Take him flowers? Why would you give up your dreams for Jo?” Arms crossed over my chest, I treaded carefully, knowing every word could set her off. “I know why.”

“If you don’t get the fuck out of here, I’m going to scream.” Her hands slammed into my chest, knocking me back a step. “Get out!”

I didn’t bother to fight that time. I’d hurt her beyond repair, and what had transpired was for the best. We were fated to hate each other. I’d known that from the beginning.

So I left.

* * *

Light flickered from the living room of Jo’s apartment, where a woman, presumably her full-time nurse, lay passed out in front of the TV. I slid the window I’d just climbed through closed to a crack, and hoisted my duffle back up onto my shoulder.

Jo’s eyes tracked me, as I rounded her bed and took a seat on the chair beside her.

One more glance assured me the nurse wouldn’t be coming in anytime soon, with her head propped back on a pillow, mouth gaping around the snores heard over whatever TV show still played on the TV. I turned my attention back to Jo, who silently studied my face, her mind perhaps locked in some other time, some other place.