Page 76 of The Sniper
“Iamto blame.If I’d heard something, if I hadn’t told the patrol to head home, they won’t have got back inside your home.”
Her hand lands on my chest, and I grip it.“Or I could be dead.”
It wasn’t necessarily true, but clearly we were both clutching at straws.I didn’t want her to romanticize last night.It couldn’t amount to anything.We were worlds apart, and ensuring she had the right security to keep her safe was the priority.
“We don’t know that.Noah is here now, so why don’t I go introduce you.”
“I need you.”
“No.You don’t.Those guys out there are better trained than me, Tiff.”
“You aren’t hearing me.I needyou,” she pleads, and I curse, shaking my head.
“Listen...”
Her hand falls away, and the feeling of loss is palpable.This is it.This is where I say goodbye, and she accepts that I’m not worth it.
It was inevitable.
“I’m not expecting you to confess your true love to me after last night, Jay.I trust you, and I need that feeling around me right now.”
So, it meant nothing?
My mind is so fucking tired, confused, and goddamn stressed with his ongoing noise and anxiety.
Something in me snaps.
“Maybe you shouldn’t trust me,” I growl roughly, leaning closer.“Jesus, look what happened.I took advantage of you, and someone got inside your goddamn house.”
I can’t do this.
I can’t be the person who everything thinks I am.I can barely keep my head straight.
“Bullshit, Jayden.You forced me to put in those cameras.You protect me even when you don’t need to.You wouldn’t normally even be here at night.Whoever got in, would have whether you were here or not.”Tiffany prods my chest.“But that’s not what this is about, is it?It’s about us.”
She’s wrong.
“They’re just fucking cameras,” I say, ignoring the rest.
“You did it because you cared!”
“It’s my job.Stop reading into this.”I ruffle my hair, uncomfortable with this conversation.
Hurt fills her eyes as she glances away.
Fighting the urge to pull her into my arms, I seek another solution.“Perhaps you should move in with your parents for a few weeks.”
Cold, hurt eyes return to mine, holding my stare for a long moment.
“So, this is it?You are leaving.Job done.Now, this new guy takes over.”
“Yes,” I answer.
Tiffany nods.
A simple, dismissive nod, void of any emotion.It’s my cue to leave.It’s the exit I’ve been seeking.
So why am I still standing here?
