SASHA
Now sittingon the edge of the pool, my feet dangling in the water, I can’t help but miss Gideon.
It feels lonely without him.
The sun is setting, and the sky is ablaze with colors like a painting coming to life. It feels like an eternity since we’ve been together, but really, it’s only been hours since our talk this morning.
I shake my hair out, water droplets still clinging to the strands. I only just got out of the pool, but it’s already drying.
The summer air is thick with heat, and my hair is proof. It’s like the humidity is a blanket, weighing me down.
Standing up from where I’m sitting, I head to a lounge chair and lie back, closing my eyes and letting out a deep breath.
I can still see Gideon in my mind’s eye.
His tall frame, his broad shoulders. The way his hair falls just so over his forehead.
And his eyes.
They’re what really get me.
The intense blue, just like an ocean. Just like an endless pool. They’re mesmerizing. I can hear his voice, too, low and rumbly. The way he says my name like it’s the most beautiful word in the world. “Sasha.” And when he calls me firefly…
Stop.
It’s too soon to feel like this. I just saw him this morning, but I can’t help it. I want him already.
The thing that sits in my belly, hard like a giant boulder, is, what if something happened to him? What if he’s hurt? Or worse?
No, I can’t think like that.
Gideon’s fine. He’s probably just busy. He’ll be back.
He has to be.
I’m not sure how long I sit here daydreaming of him—more like worrying—but there are two things I realize. One, I’m fucked because I’m starting to really care for him, and two, it’s getting late.
The sky has become dark now, and the pool is lit up with underwater lights. They cast an eerie glow on the water.
That’s when I hear a noise coming from a few feet away. The air crackles with something I can’t place, and I move to face the direction the sound is coming from. A person steps out from the dark shadows, walking toward me. It’s hard to see who it is since my vision hasn’t quite adjusted to the dark yet, but for some reason, I’m not frightened.
“Waiting for me?” As soon as I hear him speak, I jump up from the lounge chair and charge toward him.
My arms wrap around his neck. “Where have you been?”
He hugs me close, placing a kiss to my forehead. “I was looking into your brother’s murder and the threat against you.”
It feels like cold ice water is thrown over me.
I take a step back, untangling myself from his arms. My mouth opens and then closes. I want to ask so much, but my tongue feels heavy.
Did you find anything?
Who was behind it?
Am I still in trouble?
Gideon watches me, his jaw tight like cut marble. He lets out a sigh, reaching his hand out to take mine in his. He gives me a gentle squeeze. “I don’t want to talk business right now.” A part of me wants to object, and I’m about to, but he cuts me off before I can talk. “Please. Give me another night with you before the ugly comes.” Despite the way my heart hammers in my chest with uncertainty, I nod. “Get in the pool.”