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Lingering with my hands on his shoulders, I search his face. “Can I ask what happened?”
He shakes his head.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he says, voice gruff and strained.
I want to argue that obviously he’s not.The look on his face tells me that’s a bad idea. I run my gaze over his features again, dying to know what Darius did that set him off, but eventually, relent and pull my hands away. Before I can drop to my heels, he catches my wrists in a firm but gentle hold that confuses me even more.
“I’m not mad at you.”
My nose wrinkles. “I know that.”
“Good.” He releases me and heads to his desk, dropping into his seat and burying himself in his work.
I’ve dealt with my fair share of disassociation and recognize that he needs space. I gather my things, fighting the urge to ask a hundred questions, and glance at him. “I’ll see you at home.”
Mace glances at me and nods. A raging tempest of curiosity swirls inside of me. Between the texts with Malik, the way his dad stormed in, and how Mace returned, there’s something there. I have to figure out what it is.
twenty-seven
CASSIA
Mace has been strangely distant ever since the day I brought him lunch. He’s kept his promise. At the end of every night, we end up on the couch, watching a show, but the bed is cold every morning when I wake up. He hasn’t even tried to have sex with me. Although I know it’s wrong to feel entitled to the orgasms he was giving me, I’m starting to wonder if I’m being punished for real.
Paranoia settles between my shoulder blades as I work. Tony is flipping through one of the magazines in Orion’s seating area, his attention occasionally straying to me. Every glance has my muscles tightening.
Do they know what I’ve done?
I stare at the sentence I’ve been working on for the last ten minutes and blow out a hard breath. This report for Mei needs to be done today. Her divorce proceedings are in a few days, and the evidence gathered will help her get a fair share. Personally, I think she deserves everything, but that’ll never happen. It was smart of her to think ahead, toplan to destroy him once the marriage is over, when he’s already facing the consequences of his own actions.
The bell on the door alerts me to a customer’s arrival. Sighing, I quickly finish the paragraph I’d been writing. I stand, smile turned on for the customer, and look at none other than Paige motherfucking Smith. The FBI agent clocks Tony with a very ladylike nod of her head before facing me.
Though she narrows her eyes in warning, her tone is soft when she speaks. “I know you said it might take a while, but I was hoping you had an update on my case?”
Tony shifts in his seat, eyes shifting to her ass, eyebrows raising in appreciation.
Come on, Tony! Can’t you spot a fed when you see one?
“Sure.” Anxiety bangs around inside my chest. Breathing deep, I lock my computer and grab the folder I’ve been keeping from my drawer. Somehow, Paige always shows up while Orion is out, but in case he was ever here when she arrived, I knew it would need to look like a legit client interaction to keep him unaware. My own customer base is small, practically non-existent, but I could write it off as someone I’ve worked with on the darknet.
“Right this way.” I lead the way to the small conference room with a window that showcases the rest of the office. Tony’s eyes meet mine, and I grin, rolling my eyes like this is annoying.
Shaking his head, he goes back to scrolling on his phone.
Paige closes the door. I stand at one side of the circular table and she stands at the other. Nerves flutter in my belly, and I count my exhale before breathing in again. Our gazes hold for a few seconds, then she sighs and glances out of the conference room, noting our audience.
“Shall we sit?” She slides her chair out and takes her seat.
Reluctance lingering in my chest like a cold, I join her. “Have you heard from Ian?”
“No.”
“Is he okay?”
“I’m sure he’s fine,” she says, drumming her fingers on the table. “Well, what do you have for me?”
Unease settles in my gut, but I drop the questions about Ian and open the folder. The sooner she’s gone, the better. The Trojan I planted has been collecting data for almost a week. In that time, Rex Technologies has had an obnoxious number of business transactions. A few acquisitions finalized, and some board changes. “Last week, there was a quarterly board meeting.” I slide a copy of the meeting minutes that one of the company assistants distributed.