Dream Of You - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,39

was getting worried about you,” Jax said, placing the bottle back.

Colton glanced over at him, and his gaze was icy as it moved past Jax and Roxy and then over me. He stopped. Literally stopped walking, jerking to a halt.

Our eyes met, and I couldn’t even think. There were no thoughts as we stared at each other. My heart…it felt like it stopped, just like him.

“Um,” Roxy murmured.

The woman with Colton said something. Her bow-shaped lips moved, but he didn’t react. Not at first, and then he did.

“Shit,” he said, and he turned to the stunning blonde, who had placed her hand on his arm. The touch was familiar, as if she had done it a thousand times before.

I whipped around, my skin tingling as I walked the drinks and menu to the table. I put them down before I dropped them.

“Are you ok…oh my God.” Jillian’s eyes doubled in size.

The twisting in my stomach made me nauseous as I flushed hot and then cold. “I think—” I shook my head, my cheeks burning. “God, I’m so sorry, but I really need to go.”

Jillian rose, sympathy crossing her face. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think something like this would—”

“I know.” A knot formed in my throat, and the ache pouring into my chest told me that what I felt for Colton was not simply like or attraction. “I hate to do this.” Pressing my lips together, I breathed out of my nose. “This is so embarrassing.”

“It’s okay.” She squeezed my arm. “Go. Just call me when you get there, okay?”

Nodding, I bent down and kissed her cheek, then I grabbed my purse. I didn’t dare look back as I headed for the door, and I knew even as I yanked it open, I was being such a coward.

My confidence sucked and I was a coward. Great. Winning combination. I didn’t remember much of the drive home and as I walked inside, I kicked off the heels and left them just inside the door.

After I texted Jillian, I felt horrible. I shouldn’t have bolted. I should’ve sat there and pretended like what the fuck ever. Tossing my phone on the couch, I pressed my palm against my forehead. The whole being an idiot thing was a running theme.

But Colton had been there with the same beautiful blonde. The fiancée—ex-fiancée, and Sunday, he had been kissing me, touching me, and telling me that I was beautiful and smart, and tonight he was with her?

What in the hell?

Anger surfaced, and I dug my phone out from between the cushions of my couch. I didn’t even know what I was going to do. Text him? Call? Throw my phone? All seemed like a viable option.

A knock at the door stopped me.

I turned around and for a moment I didn’t move. Despite the fact I’d just seen Colton with her, hope sparked deep in my chest, and how incredibly stupid was that? I doubted they just happened to run into each other. Then again, it had been purely coincidental that I’d even been there.

I shouldn’t have left.

The knock came again, and my feet came unglued from the floor. With my phone in one hand, I opened the door.

It happened so fast.

A shadow—a person—shoved inside, slamming the door against the wall. There was a glimpse of a band of dark ink around thick biceps. A scream built in my throat and ripped loose a second before pain exploded along the side of my head, stunning me.

I stumbled to the side, my phone slipping from my fingers and hitting the floor. A door slammed shut and a second later, the wind was knocked out of me as my back hit the floor. My lungs seized as I stared up.

It was him—the shooter.

Holy shit.

Had he pistol-whipped me? Wet warmth trickled down the side of my neck. The whole left side of my head throbbed.

A fine sheen of sweat dotted his forehead as he towered over me, a gun in his hand. “You couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut, could you?”

My heart lodged in my throat as I scrambled backward, my hands slipping over the wood floors. A flip-flop came off as I reached the edge of the throw carpet.

He followed me. “All you had to do was keep your fucking mouth shut. That was all. Now Mickey is dead and the son-of-a-bitch Vakhrov is gunning for me, all because you couldn’t keep your cunt mouth shut.”

My vision blurred a little as I tried to remember who