Page 16 of Link (Dragon Riders MC 1)
She shook her head. “I can’t imagine how that must’ve felt for you.”
“I think, in some ways, you can.”
Her eyes watered before they dropped to her lap.
“Thank you for what you did for me, Link.”
The sincerity in her voice stopped my heart in my chest. “You’re welcome, Joanna. I wasn’t going to leave you stranded out there.”
She raised her watery gaze. “You were very kind to me when I wasn’t so kind to you. I made a judgment about you that was false, and I’m sorry for that.”
“Ah, well, I wouldn’t consider it fully false.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. “Just because I didn’t come at you in a threatening manner doesn’t mean I haven’t done it.”
“Ah.”
“But only when it’s deserved.”
“Just—maybe don’t be like Sly.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, you don’t have to worry about that.”
And as our eyes met, my heart came to life again.
What the hell have you done to me, Joanna?6JoannaI couldn’t get back to my car quickly enough. Even though my talk with Link settled me, I didn’t like walking back through that bar. Sly was there, bellied up to the pig trough, eyeing me the entire way out. By the time I got to my car, I was sprinting. I had to catch myself against the door before I ripped it open. I hopped in and I tried inserting the key, but my hand trembled so badly I couldn't get it in the damn ignition.
Come on, you idiot. Breathe.
I drew in a deep breath through my nose and slowly let it out. And as I let it out, the key slid into place. I locked my doors and cranked the engine, checking all of my mirrors. I didn’t want Sly following me out here. I’d mace the damn man if he so much as looked at me the wrong way. And as I sped out of the parking space, I raced into the main road.
Listening as cars honked while I tried to straighten myself in the lane.
“Hooooly shit,” I breathed.
I didn’t know how I felt. I refused to look over my shoulder at the bar as I tore down the road. Yes, dashing out of his office the way I did probably came off as rude. Running through the main bar like that probably earned me some weird looks. I didn’t care, though. I didn’t feel safe there, despite the fact that I felt safe with Link in his office. And while that massive man told me I had paid him back, but I sure as hell didn’t feel that way.
“What is happening right now?” I whispered.
I gripped my steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. My mind was set to autopilot as I navigated my way through town. The sun had set a while ago and darkness hung heavily over the city. I blinked back tears as my hands grew sweaty. All of the nerves I kept held back while talking to Link were finally surfacing. From the tears in my eyes to the tremor in my knees, I was more unstable than I had in a long time.
But when my car came to a stop, I wasn’t at home.
I was at the office.
Oh well. Guess now’s as good of a time as any.
In my jeans and my off-shouldered shirt, I parked my car in front of my office. I didn’t care that it was late. Or that it was the weekend. I didn’t care that it was dark and nothing else was open around me. I opened my glove box and reached for my gun. I dug my mace out of the center console before I looked behind me. I didn’t have my files, but I did have my spare laptop. That held enough work to keep me occupied at least for a few hours.
“Work it is,” I sighed.
I made my way into my office with my spare laptop bag tossed over my shoulder. I locked all of the doors behind me and made sure to only turn on my desk lamp lest someone mistake me for actually being in my office. I set my gun on the desk to my right and the mace to my left. I wanted anyone who might barge in on me to see that I was more than capable of getting myself out of any scenario they threw at me. Then, I checked my emails. Replying to messages. Putting in late-night requests for information from the police department on behalf of my clients. Hell, I even made a few phone calls!
The night ended up being very productive.
Until a text message from my little sister vibrated my phone.
Hope: Are you free right now?I furrowed my brow at the message. I checked the time and saw it was well past midnight. What in the world was my little sister doing contacting me this late at night?
