Page 47 of Temptation and Treachery
Elbows on the desk, he stared at the login screen, not really seeing anything. Rejection had been a part of his life since day one. Given away at birth, he’d grown up in the system, returned by families who couldn’t deal with a kid who wasn’t filled with innocence and laughter. They’d all been inconsequential. He’d experienced true emotional pain once before, at the hands of a woman he’d searched out. The one who’d given birth to him. And the child he was had sworn never to allow it to happen again. Never to open up and let another woman tear him apart and crush the bits.
“What the hell, dude?” Parker stood glaring down at him, arms crossed.
He checked himself, dragging in a breath as he straightened. Parker wasn’t exactly stealthy, and she’d made it all the way in the building with him being zoned out. Which said a lot about his state of mind.
“Where have you been?”
He went back to the laptop, ignoring her question. He was in no way accountable to the staff medic. And frankly, he didn’t want to share that moment with her or anyone else.
The door opened and Gatlin’s familiar footsteps echoed in the hall. Great. Any minute the rest of the camp would show up to sing “Kumbaya”.
“Celeste was a mess, and you were a no-show.” She came around to stand in front of the desk. Hello Kitty stared down at him menacingly from her T-shirt, an AR clutched in her right paw and a promise to take no prisoners printed across the bottom. “What the fuck kind of relationship is this?”
“He was doing debriefs,” Gatlin said, sidetracking her.
Ah fuck. He’d been the one to hold Celeste when she needed support. Maybe the only one who truly knew how she felt…how much she despised him after what happened.
Parker narrowed her eyes. “You and Angel did the debrief. I was there,” she pointed out.
“We debriefed the team and Snow,” Gatlin corrected, leaning a hip on his desk. “Rio took care of the guys at the holding facility and the hospital.”
“And you’re just now coming back?” she said incredulous. “It’s freaking three o’clock in the morning.”
“The guard’s surgery took hours.” Recovery had taken a couple hours more. He’d purposely waited, needing some time to process everything that happened. “And I needed to get to him before anyone else did.”
“So where’s Celeste?” she asked, kicking up the tension in the room.
Expressionless, Gatlin reported out. “Not here.”
“Then she’s likely being processed so she can get back to Seattle.” The words beat against the inside of his chest.
She curled her lip. “If I’d known you were just going to knock her up and send her on her way, I would have stayed out of it.”
Maybe she should have. Much as he wanted to spit that out, he couldn’t. He didn’t regret a single moment of what happened between them that night. In fact, it would be the thing of dreams…or nightmares. “I wasn’t the one to leave.” His voice sounded flat and disconnected to his own ears.
“Dude,” she said in a calmer voice. “She’d just lost her entire family.”
Guilt hammered at him with every word. “And I was to blame, Parker.” He shot her a meaningful glare. “What did you expect me to do? Hold her? Ask her to switch to the other arm so she wouldn’t end up smeared with the blood on my vest? Her brother’s blood. The guy I—”
“Duuuude…” she cut in, “it’s not like that.”
But Rio wasn’t about to drop it. “Let’s talk about it, sweetheart. Oh, remember the time I shot your brother? How’s your father? Oh yeah, he’s up for the death penalty.”
“Rio,” she snapped. “You’re just—”
“Parker, let it go,” Gatlin said straightening. “You’re not going to fix anything at three o’clock in the morning.”
“Somebody has to.” She turned from one to the other, expecting more than what either was willing to give.
Gatlin shook his head, scowling. “Sometimes shit’s just FUBAR.”
She tossed up her hands then turned on her heel and stalked out. Her mumbled curses at men in general echoed in the empty hallway until she slammed through the door.
Gatlin scoffed. “You’d think she’d never seen a kid grow up without his daddy around.” He yawned then turned to follow her. “I’m headin’ back to the rack. You should, too. Things will make more sense in the morning.”
Was that how far things had gotten? Fucked up beyond all repair. He’d always avoided drama, walking away when and if necessary. This wasn’t some insignificant bullshit. It was his life, his kid, and Celeste. He had no doubt she’d make it through this. All of it. And him? Had he really given anything between them a chance? She was bound to be hurt and, yes, hating him. But she knew what her father had done. He’d seen it in her reaction when they worked on the timeline.
Hell, he should have stayed and let her take it out on him. He deserved it, everything she could throw at him, no matter how bad. Letting her purge her anger might help her heal. Which might give them a chance to be together, some day. He could be patient, especially considering what he had to lose otherwise.
