Me:No matter what anyone says, I’ll be home for it.
Me:I promise.
Seren:Okay, weirdo. Won’t you be back tonight?
Me:No, but no matter what anyone says, I will be back. I just need a couple of days.
My heart splinters knowing she may have to face her mom and I won’t be there to help her, but the sooner I can get this stuff handled, the sooner I can get back and fight for the rest of my life.
Seren:I trust you.
Gah. I feel everything she leaves unwritten: I’m trusting you, please don’t hurt me. I’m trusting you, please come back. I’m trusting you, please don’t make me regret it.
Placing my hands on my hips, I lift my gaze to the top of the building, stretching myself to be as big as I can. It feels like slipping armor on, and if I’m going to face down the battle of my past, I’ll need all the protection I can get.
Seb:Please tell me where you are.
Seb:The car will be here to take us to the airport in an hour, should I hold it for you?
Seb:I have to get back. Mya is on her way to Sailport Bay. I can’t let her arrive before I do.
Me:I’ll be home as soon as I can.
Me:Do what you need to do for the kids, Seb. I’m fine.
Seb:Then why won’t you fucking talk to me?
“Can I help you?” the woman at the front desk asks. I’d gone through the motions of entering the building but have no recollection of the journey.
The Walkers have all my focus, just as they have my whole heart.
“Um, what floor is Coleman Industries on?”
“The twenty…” She pauses to check her screen. If she says the twenty-second, I’m going to throw a hissy fit to end all hissy fits. This cosmic bullshit needs to find someone else to pick on.“There it is. They’re on the twenty-fourth through the thirtieth floors.”
Great. Well. Since he’s the boss, I’ll assume he’s on the top floor. The woman points to a bank of elevators and once the doors close, I suck in air until my lungs burn. How is no one stopping me? They really need to up their security in this building.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Tiny mental freak-out. Breathe in. I have almost thirty floors to get my shit together. This showdown has been a long time coming.
But the elevator doors open on the twenty-fifth floor and my mental freak-out spins out of control.
“Rowan?” Jake holds the elevator open but doesn’t enter. “What are you doing here?”
“You owe me,” I blurt. Well, crap.
He nods. “Come on. I’d take you up to my office, but Haley and my dad are up there fucking.”
My mouth drops open and my nose wrinkles in disgust.
“Yeah, that’s my reaction too.”
“Then why are you married to her?”
“I’m not. Well, not anymore. It’s just for show right now until my father hands over his shares of the company to me.”
Jake leads me into an empty conference room. “It’s really good to see you, Row.”
“This isn’t a social call,” I snap. “You hurt me.”
