Page 29 of Bought By the Ruthless Pakhan

I picked up my suitcase, climbed the stairs one by one. Figured I'd crash at that rental first.

At least it had a roof. Somewhere to hide from the rain.

It started raining again.

Fine drizzle slipped down my collar, dampened my hair, stuck it to my forehead. Cold. Itchy.

I pulled my collar up, stood at the curb, tried to flag a cab.

"Hey, Anna."

A familiar voice stopped me.

I turned.

A man in a dark gray trench coat. Sharp nose, deep-set eyes, warm brown irises lighting up with undisguised relief.

"God, I've been looking everywhere for you." He opened his umbrella and walked toward me. "You didn't answer texts, didn't reply to emails. I was this close to filing a missing person's report."

My classmate. Chris Harris.

I opened my mouth. My throat felt tight.

I'd been in a daze for days. My phone died ages ago. I hadn't seen any messages.

Looking at Chris's worried face, all I could manage was, "Family stuff."

Chris's gaze slid down from my face and landed on the mud spatters on my pant legs.

He didn't press. Just tilted his umbrella toward me, most of it covering my head while rain soaked his shoulder.

"My car's over there. Let me give you a ride."

I wanted to refuse.

But Chris took my suitcase, naturally pulled me toward where he'd parked.

The rain picked up. Droplets hammered the umbrella.

When I sank into the passenger seat, I still felt dazed.

Chris pulled some tissues from the glove box and handed them over. "Anna, that job you asked me to look out for? Got a lead. There's a working professional nearby heading out of town, needs a temp tutor for a couple weeks."

"Really?" I wiped the water off my face. "That's great. Thanks."

Chris joked, "If you really want to thank me, just answer my messages from now on."

Outside, the rain blurred the streets into smudges of color. Sycamore leaves along the road curled up, exposing their gray-green undersides. Water rushed along the curb toward the drains.

I stared out the window. Said nothing.

Chris didn't push. Just drove quietly, took me back to my rental.

Before he left, he said, "The client's leaving the day after tomorrow. If you're free, you can meet her tomorrow, nail down the schedule and details."

"Okay."

From that day on, I went back to my old life.