Slipping out of the sheets, I dug through the open suitcase before my hands landed on the gun case. I sat on the floor and toyed with the lock. Fear pulsed through me as I contemplated whether I should keep the gun on the side table.
Shaking my head, I slid the case under my bed and went downstairs to find some kind of sleep aid.
My salvation came in the form of a bottle of red wine. Posted up in my bed, I couldn’t rid myself of the stomach-twisting nerves that finally pushed me to pull out the small gun and place it next to my charging phone.
Tears blurred my vision as I stared at the beretta sitting next to the empty wine bottle and my favorite vibrator—a perfect fucking picture of my current life. A small laugh grew until I was shaking from head to toe.
I’m not sure when I finally fell asleep, but when my alarm went off the following day, and I felt around to shut it off, my fingers grazed cold steel. Snatching my hand back, I jolted out of bed.
“Fuck. Fuck.”
I stared the gun down, pacing the room. My hands tugged at my hair and rubbed my eyes. I would walk close to the table, only to stride away as quickly as possible. A stupid dance thatI couldn’t stop.
Ryan tangled with my feet, as anxious as I was but unsure what was wrong with his human.
At a stalemate with my inanimate foe, I headed to the bathroom to get ready for work. When I came back into the room, my eyes couldn’t leave the side table.
Was I really going to keep a gun in the house? Was I really going to sleep with it next to me?
Shaking my head, I shoved the gun in the drawer and grabbed the empty bottle to take down to the recycling.I itched to get the hell out of the house and to work. At least at work, I was surrounded by people and distracted by clients.
Locking up, I scanned the street, quickly spotting Pete down the block.
Did he sleep in his fucking car?
I couldn’t get in my car fast enough, and before I knew it, I was walking into the office. Miranda’s eyes widened, and she swallowed her coffee with a wince. “Sasha! You’re here!”
“That I am.” I smiled and hurried past her.
Ashley’s office was still dark, which wasn’t surprising, as it was only 8:00 a.m. Settling in, I jumped right into answering emails and setting up back-to-back meetings to make up for my week-long absence.
“Sasha!” Ashley shouted from the hallway.
“Yeah?” I kept my eyes on the screen as I crafted a delicate email telling a vendor to fuck off.
Ashley rounded my desk, throwing her arms around my neck. Her petite body pressed hard into my shoulder, her fluffy hair flattening under my chin. “You’re back!”
I patted her arm, pulling away. The smile on her face made me nervous. “Yep. I’m feeling much better.”
“Mhm.” Ashley frowned, then walked over to my office door. She gently shut it and turned the lock.
“What are you doing?” I pushed my laptop to the side to get a better view of her face as she sat across from me.
“We’re talking, and I’d rather not have Miranda interrupt us.”
Dread sunk my stomach into my ass. I was going to throw up. “About what?”
“You were out for a week, Sash. Do you want to tell me about it?”
Play dumb. Don’t get her involved.
My lips parted, but Ashley held her hand up. “And don’t bullshit me. I talked to Malcolm.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“You’re talking again? That’s great,Ash.” I tried to relax my face into a smile, but the tension in my cheeks was too tight.
“Yeah, fucking fantastic.” She stared at me as if she was waiting for something. When it was apparent I wasn’t going to talk, she sighed. “Fine. Then I’ll talk. Did Luca threaten you?”