Page 29 of The Complete Truth Duet
After that, all bets were off.
“You know. Just to be clear. I live in hell, Penn. I’m not scared of the flames.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stiffen, but never one to bask in the suffering of another, I turned, opened my door, and went inside.
When I slid the third lock into place, I heard his door shut.
Penn
“Oh God,” I breathed, putting my back to the door. My skull hit the wood with a dull thump, but pain splintered in my head, ricocheting through my body until I thought I was being divided in two.
And honestly, I feared that was exactly what was happening.
My chest ached and my throat felt like I’d swallowed a bag of sand, but it was the swirling in my gut that I knew would destroy me.
Cora fucking Guerrero.
Screwing my eyes shut, I pinched the bridge of my nose, wishing I hadn’t been waiting in the hall on the off chance that Marcos had made his move.
Of course she’d come out half naked, her honey-tanned legs traveling up to bubblegum-pink panties that were damn near invisible.
Of course, when she’d touched me, it’d shredded the numbness I’d purposely constructed to keep the anger locked inside—and people like her out.
Of course I’d felt it all, right down to her fingerprints branding me through my shirt.
And, of fucking course, I’d had to go to war against my body not to take one single taste of her mouth. If she had pushed the issue a second longer, I’d have lost that battle in spectacular fashion.
Sliding down the door, I sank to my ass and whispered, “What the hell am I doing?”
“Good question,” Drew replied.
I jerked my head up and found him sprawled out across the couch, his eyes closed and aimed up at the ceiling, but a classic smile tipped his lips.
Grasping at straws, I lied, “I heard something and went to check.”
He opened his lids and swiveled his head to face me. “And you just so happened to stop to put on a jacket and boots first?”
“I was already up,” I mumbled, rising to my feet and walking away, headed nowhere in particular as long as it was away from him. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“That might be because you sat in the hall all night, staring at her door.”
I ground my molars, cursing myself for not giving him the bedroom.
He knifed up, stretching his arms over his head. “This building is made of construction paper and paperclips. If Marcos had shown up, we’d have heard him.”
“I had a bad feeling. Okay? Get off my ass.”
“I’m not giving you shit. You’re a free man, Penn. Stare at her door for the rest of your natural life if you want. But I will say—you getting into a clench with her is hardly gonna help my case.”
Of course he’d seen. I bet his eye had been glued to that goddamn peephole like it was his job. Which…I guessed it kinda was.
“Fuck off.”
He put a hand to his chest. “I can keep trying, but we both know she’s into you, whether she’s ready to admit it or not. We’d be idiots not to capitalize on that. It’s been two days and you’ve accomplished more than I could do in two months. Why are you fighting it?”
“Please, help me. Please.”
“Because we had a plan,” I said.
He stood and walked over to me. “And plans change. Five years ago, being here was not my plan. And it sure as hell wasn’t yours.” He took my wrist, lifting my tattooed arm up as though it were exhibit A. “Adapt or die, remember?”
God, I hated it when he was right. I’d lived thirty-three years of my life without so much as the first desire to be inked. I’d worn suits to work and driven an Audi. I’d slept in a bed that had been custom made for my maximum comfort. And I’d fallen asleep each night with the sound of waves crashing outside my bedroom window.
That was all before twenty-nine minutes changed my life.
Now, I was nothing.
No one.
I had but one purpose.
And, because of Cora and the fucked-up shit she was doing to my head, I was already failing.
Tugging my arm from his grasp, I groaned and used my thumb and forefinger to rub my eyes. “I can’t adapt to this one.”
“Honestly, I don’t think you have to. The mystery-man bit seems to be her type.”
“Fuck her type.” I stabbed a shaky finger at my chest. My voice got loud as I seethed, “That woman is going to kill me.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve touched the decorative ornament hanging between your legs recently, but you’re still a man. And she’s a good woman who’s into you. Of course she’s going to kill you. That’s what women do.” He gripped my shoulder and captured my gaze. “And that’s okay.”
