Page 44 of Heartless

The few times I’d seen that expression, his fists had been flying, and faces had been broken.

Rage laced his tone.“What the fuck, Jake?I had your back, and you pulled that fucking shit?We could have played this gentle-like.You could have eased her into being here, but all you saw was him.”

He took one stride forward.Sile had a mean right hook.I set the glass on my desk and clenched my fists.

“You put a fucker in hospital for a month because he cornered Bianc in a bathroom for five fucking minutes.What you did to that girl is worse.You know Morrison is using her, but you still went at her until you ripped her to shreds.You terrorized her.We fucking terrorized her, and no woman fucking deserves that.”

“You’re out?”

Pissed the fuck off, he leaned in.“I see one more of those fucking tears, and I’ll break your legs into so many pieces, the idea of walking will hurt.Puppy love, huh?You kicked a fucking puppy.Feel good?”

He strode to the door.“Fuck you, asshole.”

The door slammed behind him.

I poured another drink.

****

Sienna had been inher quarters for the last four hours.I remembered that during her incessant babble in the car, she’d mentioned she’d skipped breakfast.Better rip that band-aid all the fucking way off.

After plating a loaded sandwich, water, and a thick piece of cake on the kitchen table, I headed toward the self-contained apartment.It had its own living room and an adjacent home office, complete with multiple shelves, and a desk with a brand-new laptop.

I unlocked the door and knocked.No answer.I knocked harder.

After pushing the door open, I entered the empty room.“Sienna?”

The bay window leading to the terrace was ajar.Fuck.I raced to the small terrace.After checking the grounds, I went back in.The only exit was through the back of the house, and I would have received an alert on my cell if one of the exits had been used.

Blood rushed to the back of my neck.I barged into the bedroom, kicking one of her discarded heels in the process.The bathroom was empty too.The room was deadly quiet.Where had she gone?

Charging in the small office, I stopped.She was seated on her calves by the shelving unit with her back to me, surrounded by books piled on the floor.

I rolled my head side-to-side to shake the tension off the back of my neck.“Sienna?”

Still no answer.When I touched the back of her shoulder, she sprung on her feet, and her scream ripped through the room.An earbud fell and rolled next to a small MP3 player laying on a book.Her face paled.Her long, shaking fingers darted over her open mouth, and her eyes were enlarged with fear.

“I’m s-sorry...”

I reached for her, and she scurried back, tripping on her books.Her arms flailed.Her body lurched backward.I caught her arm to steady her.She screamed again before I released her and shifted back.

Her body was wracked with tremors.Her little fists were pressed against her chest, and tears inundated her cheeks.“I’m sorry.I’m sorry...”

“Stop apologizing.”

She clamped her lips shut, stifling the sound coming out of her throat, and nodded her bent head.I shoved my hands in my pockets while music filtered from her earbuds on the wooden floor.That thing must have been blaring in her ears.

The fast pumps of her heart were visible from a foot away.“Sienna, I’m not going to hurt you.When I called your name, you didn’t answer.”

On a trembling breath, she lowered her hands, but her shoulders still reached her ears, and she kept her gaze to the floor.

“Come, we need to talk.”

She followed me to the quarters’ living room where she stood beside me with her head tilted down.

My hands fisted in my pockets.“Cam comes in the morning and does most of the cooking.If you’re hungry, the fridge is always loaded.You can have whatever you want, whenever you want, but Cam’s not your maid, and she’ll expect you to clean after yourself.”

She cleared her throat and nodded.