“I wish you hadn’t done this,” Robert said.
“I followed my instincts.” He hated feeling this way. It was especially hard because while he’d been in that lift with Becca, he’d felt different. He’d felt like he mattered, like he belonged somewhere.
“Your instincts are crap.” Robert shook his head and backed away. “I’m going across the street. I need a drink. I’m sure you can deal with unpacking the same way you took over the op.”
He turned and walked out.
Tucker grabbed his jacket. “Don’t take it hard, Owen. He’s been touchy as hell since he realized Ariel wasn’t in London. Until she flies back and he knows she’s safely at The Garden, he’s going to be a wreck and he’s going to take it out on everyone.”
“She’s perfectly safe,” Ezra said, his eyes not leaving the pages in his hand. “And I don’t hate having her here to do some sessions after what happened in Colorado.”
He hated sessions, hated having to talk about his feelings, going over the same things again and again and again because his life never changed.
Except it kind of had now. Becca was in it. He would have to talk about her. It might be worth it if Ariel could give him insights on how to manage easing his way into Becca’s life.
“I’ll work on the flat,” Owen offered. “Maybe if I get things in order, he won’t be so angry with me.”
Jax looked up at him. “Are you sure? You usually hit a pub by this time.”
He usually found the bottom of a bottle by seven or eight at night and then opened another. He found the idea unsatisfying tonight. “No. Go on with the others. I’ve got work to do here.”
Jax gave him a smile that let him know that he wasn’t merely surprised, but somewhat pleased, and left.
Or was he mistaking suspicion for surprise?
“This is accounting for the last quarter.” Ezra moved toward the table, sitting down and starting to spread out the papers. “I wonder why she’s bothering with balancing the accounts. She has an accounting department for that.”
“I got the idea she was a hands-on kind of manager.” She seemed fairly type A when it came to work. She would need someone to force her to relax, to enjoy her downtime. She’d needed him to take over before she’d given up and allowed herself to simply take the pleasure he was offering her.
It struck him forcibly that she was exactly the type of woman who could use a Dom.
“I find it interesting that she’s only looking into one account.” Ezra glanced up. “This could be nothing at all, but I’ll send a copy down to Phoebe Murdoch.”
Owen moved to the box marked clothes. It wouldn’t be full. None of them had much to speak of. He found the plain T-shirts and jeans and hauled them out. Robert had some suits somewhere. He would hang them up before they wrinkled.
“Are you sure you did it for the right reasons?”
He glanced over and his boss was staring at him with intelligent eyes. He could never forget that Ezra Fain was a predator, and he often killed what he caught. “I made a call. I think it was the right one. I’m not going to lie to you. The lady is sexy as hell and I enjoyed myself, but I understand that this is a mission.”
“That wasn’t what I was worried about. I’m worried you did it to prove yourself.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t really, but would it be so bad to prove myself? Big Tag still hates me. He’s never going to see me as anything but the man who betrayed his brother. Tell me he doesn’t think I’m the one who gave us up in Colorado.”
“We don’t know anyone gave us up,” Ezra argued.
“Levi Green knew our location. He knew when Jax walked into those woods and he was waiting for him and River. There’s no way that was a coincidence.”
“Levi is a tricky one,” Ezra allowed. “Never underestimate him. And if anything, I think it was Solo who gave us up.”
“That’s not what Big Tag thinks.” He knew exactly what Big Tag thought because he’d overheard him one day at McKay-Taggart. “Big Tag thinks it’s one of us.”
“We disagree on that.” Ezra gathered the papers and placed them back inside the folder. “He can be paranoid and he hasn’t spent as much time with the team as I have. Owen, I don’t think you would betray us.”
“Well, history might have something to say about that.”
Ezra strode over and put a hand on his shoulder. “You didn’t do it for money, man. You did it for your family. You should have trusted your team more, but I can understand. It’s time to forgive yourself for something you can’t even remember doing and move on.”
He wasn’t sure it would be that easy for him, but as he started to unpack, he thought about Becca and, for a moment, his life didn’t seem so bad.
Chapter Six
The next morning, Becca searched her bag for the folder again and bit back a curse. Damn bag. She was switching to one she could close up. It had to have happened on the train. The train had been full, as it usually was at that time of day, and she hadn’t gotten a seat. Right before the Spadina stop, she’d dropped the damn bag and it had spilled over everywhere. She’d had help gathering it up, but she’d lost the folder she needed.
And she hadn’t figured it out until this morning because she’d spent the whole evening thinking about Owen Shaw. She’d dreamed about the man last night, and he’d been on her mind all morning long.
She was not doing this. It had been a hot moment, but she wasn’t falling head over heels for the first man she’d slept with. Fucked. Fucked hard and good and well, and she hadn’t even seen him naked.
Shouldn’t she at least see him naked?
She grabbed her bag and walked out of her apartment. If she hurried, she could grab a coffee before she headed to the office.
The elevator dinged and opened, but she was so not doing that. Stairs were her friends.
Would she get in if Owen had been the man stepping into the elevator? She’d only gotten a glimpse of the tall man with brown hair entering, but he definitely wasn’t Owen. Did he even live in the building? She hadn’t asked. It seemed like a big oversight. He could have been visiting friends.
She might never see him again, and that was a good thing because she wasn’t falling madly in love with some guy she’d met two minutes ago.
Jogging down the steps, she felt a smile slide across her face. It really had been good.
Maybe that had been her problem the first time. She’d equated commitment with happiness because that was what she’d grown up with. Not everyone got a happy marriage, and it seemed harder to find it when two careers came into play.
So maybe for her, happiness would be found in good work and good friends, and the occasional hot night with a guy she liked.
No commitment. No ties. No promises that could be broken.
The heavenly scent of coffee hit her. She loved the city, loved the fact that she had everything she needed within walking distance.
The new girl was standing behind the counter. It was too early for the café to be truly busy. She walked right up when she would normally spend ten minutes in line.
Nina smiled at her. “No fat latte?”
She had that every single morning of her life. It was simpler to have a usual order. Sometimes she got lost in choosing and wasted tons of time.
But the night before something had changed inside her. It had been good to break out of her shell. She wouldn’t stand here and debate calories. What sounded good?
“What’s your favorite?”
Nina’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, uhm, I love the caramel latte, actually. It’s got great flavor. It’s not too sweet.”
“I’ll take that.” New things. She was going to try new things.
“I’ll have whatever she’s having,” a deep voice said.
A shiver of pure desire went through her because there was no mistaking that voice. He was behind her. Owen. Deep breath. This didn’t have to be awkward.