Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,164

in front of me, twisting and turning between the two cobblestone walls that flanked it on either side. The apartment complex was modern and sprawling, with multiple brick buildings built into the hill, each building dotted with balconies that looked out across the valley.

You should have called him first, Olivia, I told myself as I took a deep breath and started up the hill. What if he’s not home?

I pushed the thoughts out of my head and trudged up the hill, scanning the buildings for number 102. They were all clearly labeled with cheerful looking brass numbers, and I felt an almost overwhelming wave of happiness rising in my chest at the thought of Declan living in such a nice place, at the thought of him getting out, of somehow being able to stop the cycle we’d both been in.

Maybe he’d have some advice on how I could do the same.

When I got to building 102, I closed my eyes for a second and wiped my palms on my jeans.

This was it.

I was about to start up the walk when a vibrating sensation came from inside my purse. My phone. Well, the phone Colt had given me. The phone you stole from him.

His name flashed on the screen. COLT. He must have programmed it into the phone before he’d given it to me.

I hesitated, my finger over the little green “answer” icon as Caleb’s words echoed through my brain.

You don’t want to do this, Olivia. You don’t want to ruin everything, you don’t want to go down for people you don’t even like.

I sent the call to voicemail.

It rang again, and again, I sent it to voicemail.

But now I was frozen, the phone clutched tightly in my hand, wondering if he was going to call me again.

After another minute, it became clear he wasn’t, and disappointment rolled through me.

Call me back. Call me back and I’ll answer.

But the phone didn’t ring again, and I waited longer than I should have before accepting that as fact.

Rage boiled inside of me.

This was supposed to be a happy moment, the moment right before I saw Declan again. But instead, Colt was ruining it. He’d invaded my mind, he’d taken over everything. Now all could think about was his lips, his mouth, his kiss, his touch, his cock inside of me, the way he’d made me moan, the way he’d made me come, his hands playing my body into the perfect symphony.

He’d made me break my promise to the only man who had ever really truly cared about me.

I hate you, I thought. I hate you so much.

I could hear his voice in my head, cocky and sure of himself, that maddening, sexy grin he gave me burned in my brain. No, you don’t.

The overwhelming urge to hurt myself welled inside of me, but of course I couldn’t, so instead I took the phone that Colt had given me and threw it as hard as I could at the ground. It skittered over the pavement, seemingly unbroken, so I picked it up and slammed it again, this time smashing and stomping it over and over again until it was shattered into smithereens.

I was quiet as I did it -- I wasn’t screaming or yelling, and yet for some reason when I was done my throat was raw and scratchy.

Once the phone was smashed, I felt better.

I squared my shoulders and continued up the path to building 102. Declan’s apartment was more like a townhouse, I realized as I walked to the door of 3D. It was a two-story, with pink and red geraniums planted on each side of the narrow little walkway that led to the porch, and the bright colors of the plants soothed me.

I didn’t give myself time to overthink it, to worry about how I looked or if Declan was going to be home, or if I was going to tell him about what happened with me and Colt, that not only had I kissed him, but that I’d slept with him, too.

I rang the doorbell.

Be home, I thought, please be home.

I didn’t hear anything coming from inside, no dog barking or television playing or footsteps walking toward the door.

There was just silence, and the silence caused the doubts to start to roll in.

What if he didn’t care? What if he wasn’t looking for me? What if this whole time everything had meant more to me than it had to him?

But a second later the door opened and there he was.

Declan.

My