They both stood and that was when I saw they were armed. Parker had his weapon in the small of his back and he took it out. He popped the magazine and checked the bullets before slamming it home again. I hurriedly looked away just as he lifted his gaze.
Both men flanked me and I could nearly feel the testosterone in the air as the prospect of what was to come had them on high alert. They looked like men you didn’t want to fuck with, both sporting a day or more’s worth of stubble on their jaws, tight T-shirts that stretched across layers of muscle, wide shoulders, and biceps that said pumping iron was a leisurely hobby they did as easily as breathing.
“It’ll be okay,” Ryker said, sensing my growing worry and unease. Sliding a hand to the back of my neck, he pulled me close for a kiss. At the last second, I turned my head so his lips landed on my cheek.
“Yeah, be safe,” I said, giving him a tight squeeze before nervously stepping away.
He looked at me strangely, but didn’t make a comment. “Okay, let’s go,” he said to Parker, then headed out the parlor door into the foyer.
The last thing I wanted was to be in the same room with Parker, so I started to follow Ryker, only to be caught up short by Parker hooking his finger in a belt loop at the back of my jeans. It was the wrong move. I was tired of being pushed around, by both of them, and I spun around, knocking his arm away from me.
“Sage, I just want to say—”
“I don’t want to hear what you have to say,” I hissed, cutting him off as I fought back tears. “I listened too much last night. And if we make it out of this alive, I quit. I am so through with you and being your secretary.”
I stormed away before he could respond. Anger was so much easier to deal with than the heartbreak that pulsed inside me.
Ryker was waiting at the open front door, his gaze narrowing when he saw me. I pasted on a smile and tried to calm down.
“Be safe,” I said, hugging him again.
“No worries,” he said, brushing a kiss to the top of my head. I let him go, then clenched my fists at my sides so I wouldn’t reach for Parker despite myself as he walked by. What if something happened to him? Maybe I’d regret what I’d said, but what else could I do? I’d bared my soul to him last night and it hadn’t made a bit of difference. I had nothing left to give him.
Our eyes met and he paused just for a moment. I said nothing and neither did he, the unsaid things piling between us like a brick wall. Then he was gone, following Ryker out to a black SUV. I watched them both get in, my heart lodged in my throat. My vision blurred as they drove away, the SUV disappearing down the long driveway.
I didn’t know what to do, how to while away the time. My nerves were already shot and the sun had risen barely an hour ago.
I needed to talk to someone and before I’d even thought twice about it, I’d picked up the phone and called Megan. When she answered, it was obvious I’d woken her.
“Oh geez, I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to wake you. Just … call me later—”
“No, it’s fine,” she interrupted with a yawn. “What’s going on? You okay?”
I hesitated, then blurted it out. “I slept with Parker.”
“Really? Oh my God, that’s great! That’s what you’ve been wanting, right? How was it?”
Her enthusiasm made me grimace. “It was good, I mean, in and of itself. Really, really good. But then today, Ryker showed up and I thought we were broken up, but I guess we weren’t—”
“Please tell me you did not tell him what happened,” she interrupted.
“No, I didn’t. I was going to break up with him, but then Parker like … took it all back.”
“What do you mean? How could he take it back? It’s sex. There are no takebacks in sex.”
“I know, but he did. He said it was a mistake and we should never have done it.” Saying the words made my eyes water and I had to blink several times.
“What a complete asshat!” Megan fumed.
“I know, and I got so angry and just … tired, you know?” I sighed. “I’ve been feeling this way about him for so long and then I thought we were finally getting somewhere, and it was so … great, then boom! It’s gone. So … I quit.”
“You quit?”
“Yeah. I told him I was through with him and I quit.” I still couldn’t believe I’d actually done it.
“Okay, so how are you feeling about that?” she asked carefully.
“I-I’m fine,” I stammered. “I mean, it’s good, right? Ryker’s been wanting me to quit and everyone says I do too much and should, you know, find a different career and …” But by now I was having a hard time getting the words out past the tears, so I stopped talking altogether.
“Aww, honey,” Megan said with a soft sigh. “That’s what I was afraid of. Are you sure about this?”
Sniffling, I rummaged in the kitchen for a tissue to wipe my eyes and nose. “It’s too late,” I said, my voice thick. “I don’t know what to do. It-it hurts … so much—” I couldn’t continue. My self-pitying misery overtook me.
“I know it does—”
I heard a voice—a male voice—in the background murmuring something I didn’t catch.
“Who’s that?” I asked.