I was. I told you I’d ruin you. You should have believed me.” He turns for the door, slipping my key into his pocket. “Do not leave this room. Do not open the door for anyone. When I get back, we’ll figure out how to get you on a flight home.”
I move quickly, slamming my palm into the door as he starts to pull it open. “Where are you going?”
He grasps my wrist and removes my hand from the door, his stony gaze drilling through me. “To my apartment. If I’m not back in an hour, get your ass to the airport and get yourself out of here.”
I open my mouth to protest, but he silences me with a look.
“This is no joke, Adri.”
I want to follow him. I came here to stop him from doing whatever it is he thinks he needs to do. But all I can do is stare at the door after he slams it in my face.
I look around my honeymoon suite. On the wall next to me is a fully stocked bar, with rows of top-shelf spirits on the granite countertop. Near the window is a small dining table with a vase of fresh roses. The couch faces a flat-screen TV on the wall, and there’s a door to the right that must lead to the bedroom.
I go to the bar and read the labels, pulling the scotch from the shelf and pouring a shot. It burns all the way down and I stand for a second waiting to see if it’s going to come back up before pouring another. I have to think. How can I stop Rob from whatever it is he thinks he has to do if I don’t know what it is?
After the second shot, the shaking in my hands slows and my thoughts start to untwist.
He said he’ll be back in an hour. I dig my phone out of my bag and start to dial the airline, but realize I can’t buy a ticket for Rob. I’m sure there’s a reason he’s not travelling under the name Davidson, even though I can’t begin to imagine what it is.
As my whirring thoughts settle, the things he said start to come into focus.
I thought I was clear in my bedroom. I don’t love you.
Am I wrong? Have I just been fooling myself that what I was seeing in his eyes was love? Because I’m pretty sure what I saw there before he walked out of this room was the opposite of love.
I want you on the next flight home.
This was crazy. He walked away from me after he had what he wanted. I am stupid and naïve to think that because he wanted to sleep with me, that meant he loved me.
So stupid.
I back away from the bar and stare out the window for a long time, trying to sort through the chaos of my thoughts. Searching for one thing I know in all the bits I believe.
I believe he’s Robert Davidson, but I don’t know that. And with everything that’s happened in the last few hours, I’m finding that less likely to be true. I believe he’s a good person, but the look in his eyes before he walked out of here was dangerous, just like he’s always said. I believe he loves me. I want so desperately for that to be true. But I definitely don’t know it is. The only thing I’m relatively sure of is that he loves his family and he’d do anything to protect them.
I pull out my phone and dial Lee. She picks up on the first ring.
“Adri! Is everything okay?”
“I’m in Chicago,” I say. “He’s here.”
A relieved sigh bellows through the phone. “Thank God.”
I swallow. “I need you to tell me what’s going on. Why did he come here?”
There’s a long pause. “Is he okay?”
“He stormed out of here a half hour ago. Said he was going to his apartment and he’d be back in an hour. If he’s not, I’m supposed to get myself on a plane. How much danger am I in, Lee?”
“Damn,” she hisses under her breath. Another pause. “I don’t know, but you should probably do what he says.”
“Who wants to kill him?”
She blows out another sigh. “We have plenty of enemies.”
“I don’t—”
“Just do as Rob says, Adri. If he’s not back soon, come home. If Rob makes it through this and something happens to you, he’ll never forgive me.”
I disconnect and stare out the window some more. “Please,”