Aleena and Larkin turned and moved cautiously around Travis when he stepped into the room.
Nia heard several voices and then nothing. She turned back to packing.
“You might want to stop right now, baby. You’re not going anywhere.”
She straightened and turned to face him. “I heard you.”
Travis’s brows puckered. “Heard me?”
“You and Madelyn. I stopped by the building yesterday. You were both in your office.” She paused and wiped the tears that ran down her face. “You told her how if you’d known she wanted you, you would have never brought me home. You talked about if it weren’t for me, your apartment wouldn’t have been destroyed.”
“I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
She shrugged and looked down. “It doesn’t matter. I was going to find out anyway.” She brought the cloth she was holding to her face and wept. “I would rather this not be face-to-face.”
She jerked back when he tried to pull her into his arms.
“No!” She lifted her hand out to keep him away.
****
Travis stared at her. He was saddened that he’d hurt the person he loved more than his life. He could see she was devastated and hoped she would be able to hear what he had to say.
She tried to go for her bags again.
“Wait. Can you give me a chance to explain? It wasn’t what it looked like.”
She tried to laugh. “I think they all say that, but I’m not an idiot.” She started crying again. “Or maybe I am. I started to believe someone like you would want me forever.”
“I do, dammit.”
She shook her head.
“I was setting her up,” he barked.
Nia wiped her eyes and looked up at him.
“The email you sent when Russ was here, she deleted it before I could see it.”
“Why?”
“She has wanted me since she started.”
“I knew that,” Nia told him. “I was going to talk to you about it, but I got distracted.”
“She also heard me talking on the phone about Russ. I found out from Russ’s friends she looked for him in the SUV they were driving and told them how to get in here.”
She sucked in a breath. “Where is she now?”
“Jail.”
Her eyes widened. “Jail?”
“Yes, sweetheart. That’s where criminals go.”
Nia plopped down on the mattress and stared down at the cloth in her hands. “I don’t know what to say.”
Travis crouched next to her and tilted her chin up with a finger. “I understand why you ran. I don’t like it, but I get it. It had to be painful to hear that conversation.”