Page 15 of Revealing Mark

“Where exactly do you keep it?” he asked. What kind of a question was that?

My frown deepened. “In the spare room.”

“Are you sure?” He studied me.

“What do you mean am I sure?” I stalked over to the spare room and yanked the door open.

It was empty except for the laptop on the small table. There were some contracts but other than that the room was totally empty. Empty.

Oh, my God!Where was my stuff?

CHAPTER FIVE

I was stunned. I held the door handle tightly, trying to process what I was seeing while being well aware I was being scrutinized by Mark. When I had left, all my equipment had been safely stowed away in the space that was now very empty.

There could only be one explanation: Jack.

“Um..I…” I mumbled as I tried to figure out how to cover up my missing equipment.

“Tracy,” Mark said, touching my arm. I swallowed before I looked back at him.

“Where’s your equipment?” The way he was studying me, I knew what I said next would either soothe his need to meddle or put it into high gear and there would be no dissuading him.

What Jack did would come to light and I would be the ‘poor Tracy who can’t keep a handle on her life.’

I forced a smile. “Oh, I forgot.” His gaze narrowed.

“I rented out some office space…I needed more space…for the…stuff.” I felt flustered under the heat of his stare.

Was he buying any of it? It only dawned on me then that this would just make me look more forgetful to him. But it was stillbetter than making the hasty decision to allow a guy I barely knew to move in. That would be worse.

I didn’t turn away; instead, I shrugged, like forgetting something like that was the norm for me.

“For fuck’s sake, Tracy,” he said, taking hold of my wrist in his hand. His grip tightened.

I’d never seen him like this. He was frustrated, almost angry. I stared in fascination.

“How can you forget something like that?” He was incredulous. He shoved his free hand through his hair.

“I forget things…sometimes,” I explained. “Let go.”

His thumb brushed against the skin of my wrist but his hold stayed in place.

“How am I not supposed to worry about you when you can’t organize your life?”

Where the hell did that come from? This time when I pulled my wrist, he released me. I rubbed the area as I stared at him, unsure of how to handle this side of Mark.

“This building isn’t safe,” he added and began to pace. “You didn’t even bother to lock the door when we arrived.” He stopped. “Do you do that often?”

“What?” I said defensively.

“Leave your door unlocked.”

I didn’t have to answer, my guilty expression enough to confirm his conclusion.

“Tracy,” he admonished. “You have to be careful. You’re on your own and vulnerable.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “I’ve been living on my own for a while already. I don’t understand what’s got into you?”