Page 34 of Backlash

“Find her?” he asks.

“Yeah, thanks for the tip,” I say.

Adair’s eyes narrow, and she points to the phone. “Is that Luca?”

“That’s not why I’m calling.” I ignore her. Right now my priority can’t be her feelings. “I just saw an old friend of ours in the Eaton lobby.”

“Yeah. Who?” His voice is muffled, like he’s chewing something. I wonder if he’s in his room. That would be convenient.

Adair clears her throat, we’ve made it to her door, and she stands there tapping her foot.

I shift the phone.

“Open it,” I mouth.

“If you think I’m letting you in—”

“Open it,” I growl, leaving no room for interpretation.

“Sterling, who was it?” Luca repeats, sounding more alert. He must have heard the alarm in my voice.

Adair slams open the door, and I step inside, pulling her along with me. As soon as we’re through, I throw the deadbolt and pace to the end of the room.

“Noah’s here,” I tell Luca.

“Noah Porter?” Luca asks in disbelief.

“No, the guy with hundreds of animals. Prepare for a fucking flood,” I snap. My free hand rubs my temples as I feel the first pangs of a headache. “Find out why he’s here.”

Luca doesn’t argue with me. He already shifted to our contingency plans. “Will do. You sticking around?”

I turn an analytical eye on Adair. She hasn’t moved from the door. Her arms are crossed, and I can almost swear actual smoke is coming from her nostrils.

“Unclear,” I mutter, pivoting away from her.

“I’ll let you know when I have something,” he promises.

Ending the call, I take my time pocketing my phone while trying to come up with an excuse for my bizarre behavior. The trouble is that Adair isn’t like a lot of women I know. The few other relationships I’ve had were purely transactional. Sex. Dinner. Conversation not encouraged. They didn’t care who I did business with or if plans changed. Adair? She cares, and conversation is definitely mandatory. It’s why I’m in love with her. It’s why I don’t know if we’ll ever work.

“I’m waiting,” she reminds me.

“It was just an old friend. I was surprised to see him, and I wanted to make sure Luca caught him,” I say. I’m trained to withstand enemy interrogation, but I’m no match for Adair MacLaine.

“Do you always run from your old friends?” she asks flatly.

“Lucky, this is complicated.”

“Actually,” she storms, “it isn’t. It’s simple. Tell me the truth. Who is he? Why is he here? Where have you been the last five years?”

This is spiraling out of control so quickly I’m not sure there’s a way to reverse course.

“Those questions might seem simple, but the answers to them aren’t,” I say, searching her face for some sign that she’ll let this go, but I know Adair better than that. She’s too stubborn to let anything go, especially when it comes to our relationship.

“Let me put it another way,” she says, “that’s the door.” She points to it. “Why don’t you go catch up with your friend? Come back when you’re ready to be honest with me.”

“I can’t tell you everything,” I say, adding quickly, “not yet.”

“And I can’t let another man lie to me, manipulate me, and treat me like I’m an idiot,” she seethes. “Not ever. Goodbye, Sterling.”