Raine (Gods of the Fifth Floor #2) - M.V. Ellis Page 0,83

hands connected with that wheel, I altered the course of all of our lives forever. We veered into oncoming traffic, swerved and hit a light pole. Lily went hurtling through the windshield from the backseat. The police said she likely forgot to buckle up amid the commotion going on in the car at the time, otherwise you could be damned sure she’d have been wearing her belt.” I gulped back the lump in my throat and blinked rapidly to hold back the tears waiting to fall. I’d come too far to stop now.

“She never knew what hit her. I’ll never forget the sights, sounds and smells of that moment, not the least of which being the image of my sister’s lifeless body on the road. It’s burned into every corner of my mind. Each time I close my eyes, and often, even when I don’t, there she is.”

“Oh Raine, I’m so sor—"

“I sat paralyzed with fear as Zach tore frantically out of the car and ran to her. I knew right away that she was dead, so, unlike him, I didn’t go to her, or tell her I was sorry, or that I loved her, or comfort her. Nothing.” I was a fucking monster.

“Of course, I’d been wrong about that, just as I had about every other fucking thing in my life. She died in Zach’s arms seconds later, and I never got to say goodbye.”

Chapter 32

Noa

* * *

Raine jumped from his seat as soon as the last words were out of his mouth.

“I’m out. This was a huge fucking mistake.” He rummaged in his pocket, grabbed his wallet and extracted a bunch of bills, then threw them down onto the table.

“Wait. What? You can’t just... Hold on.” I scrambled to my feet and hurried after him as he practically ran across the small space toward the door.

“Raine! Wait!”

He spun on his heel, glaring at me with more hatred in his eyes than I’d ever seen on anybody.

“No, you wait. I should never have said anything to you about my personal life, let alone all that shit. Stay away from me.” He slammed out of the door, and I stood stunned for a few moments, aware that all eyes in the tiny eatery were on me. I looked around quickly, shrugged apologetically, and before I knew it was hurrying out the door after Raine. I wasn’t even sure I’d made a conscious decision to follow him, but regardless, my legs were moving, and I was sprinting down the street in his wake.

I caught up with him when he was halfway back to the agency. I reached out to touch his arm, but he shrugged it off violently, shocking me with the force of the movement.

He turned to me again, stopping in his tracks so abruptly that I slammed into his body before I could come to a stop. He jumped backward away from me as though I was radioactive. “I mean it. Stay the hell out of my away. If we didn’t need you so much for the Live Your Way campaign, I’d just fucking fire you. As it is, I don’t want to see your face unless it’s absolutely necessary.” What the hell?

“I’m going to have Angie set you up a desk in the Creative Department. Work from there, and don’t speak to, call, or message me. Nothing. Unless I contact you first. Call the temp people first thing in the morning and have them book one of those guys you showed me before. I don’t care which one—the dude with the shitty hair, or any of the others. Whoever is available. As long as they have a pulse and aren’t you, they’ll do. Angie can catch the drips and do the shit they can’t. I just need someone to answer the phone, and she can do the rest until we find the right person.”

“I don’t understand where this is coming from. What did I do?” I was genuinely confused about what had happened. One minute he trusted me enough to open up about some of the most intensely personal things someone could share with somebody else. The next, he seemed to hate me to my bones. The abrupt flip in his behavior was positively dizzying.

“What did you do? Don’t give me that shit. You know full fucking well what.” This was crazy. I literally had no idea. “You tricked me into spilling my guts. All that shit I told you. Apart from the guys, I’ve never told anyone