“You’re killing me.”
He said nothing and not just because she wasn’t letting him.
“And she’s gonna kill you, Nicky,” she kept whispering. “I can try to stop her but there’s no stopping Georgie. It’ll be her or you. I know it. I don’t want it to be either. Please be safe. Please get safe. Please get out of here and make yourself and your family safe.”
“I love you, Liv.”
More tears fell as she replied, “I wish, honest to God, I really wish I could believe that, Sebring.”
He held her eyes and watched the tears fall.
Then he made a decision.
“It’s gonna gut me to walk outta here not touching you.”
Her lip quivered so she bit it.
His stomach roiled like he was going to vomit.
He fought through it and did what he had to do.
“I love you, Olivia. And I can make you safe. I can make you happy. I want a lifetime of nothing but that.”
Another tear fell out of her swelling eye but she said nothing.
“I’m gonna walk out of here not touching you and the last thing you’re gonna hear from me is that I love you, baby. Fuck, I so fuckin’ love you.”
They stood, her in front of her couch, him behind it, and stared at each other.
Neither moved except for the wet that slid out of Livvie’s sad, dead, beautiful green eyes.
“Love you, Livvie,” he whispered.
She pressed her lips together.
Nick Sebring watched.
Then he turned and walked out.
Chapter Twenty-Four
No Soul
Olivia
Fifteen Weeks Later
I looked to my list of Today as shown to me down the side of my email screen as I heard the noises in the outer office.
On a sigh I turned my attention to my office door.
Georgie came in.
“You know, us getting rid of that shithole warehouse and me getting awesome new offices you won’t move into so I don’t have to haul my ass all the way to DTC to have a sit down with you is a pain in said ass,” she complained instead of offering a greeting.
I didn’t reply.
I had no intention of moving into her offices.