Page 78 of Unhinged

Nothing. Luke was doing absolutely nothing. Worse, he was pretty sure things were beyond repair.

Hannah had completely ignored every call and text for the past two days. When he tried to apologize the other morning at the health center, she’d run in the opposite direction—but not before he’d seen the tears in her eyes. The thought gutted him.

In retrospect, he probably should’ve kept his mouth shut, at least until she’d had a little more time to come to terms with everything. Yeah, they’d only known each other for a few weeks, but he knew deep down he didn’t want anyone else. He wanted Hannah by his side—forever. He was willing to wait that long, too, but he couldn’t fix things if she continued to ignore him. And she wouldn’t be upset if she didn’t care, right?

He let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe she just needs some time.”

Knox shook his head. “That’s the last thing she needs. Trust me. The longer you give her to stew over it, the harder it’ll be to overcome. Go see her, make her talk to you. You’ll never accomplish anything by sitting here doing nothing.”

Luke stared at him. “You get that from a fortune cookie?”

Knox returned Luke's sentiment from earlier and flipped him off.

“I think you missed your calling.” Luke grinned. “You should have been a motivational speaker.”

Knox pushed off the doorjamb. “Turn off the lights when you leave.”

“Hey.” He paused, back still to Luke. “I appreciate it.”

Knox nodded once, then disappeared. As Luke watched him go, he thought back on the snippets of conversation they’d shared over the years. He wouldn’t trust advice from just anyone, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the guidance Knox offered was from personal experience.

Whatever had happened between Knox and his high school sweetheart was a mystery, but it had obviously affected him deeply. Luke was curious about what had happened, but he had enough of his own problems to worry about. Hell, he couldn’t even fix his own relationship. He dropped his head back against the chair and stared at the ceiling.

Damn Andrew for manipulating Hannah into believing the worst. Luke wanted to rip him limb from limb, claim her as his own, and force him to accept it. But Hannah had to make that decision. He’d been vindicated, at least, when the other man had shown up at the health center a couple of days ago and presumably been turned away by Hannah.

Andrew had swaggered into the building with a confident smirk only to return minutes later, shooting daggers Luke’s way as he left. He hoped Hannah had given the man the set down he deserved and more.

It pained Luke to know that Andrew was being so selfish. He clearly wanted her for himself, though she refused to see it that way. He knew Hannah and Luke were happy, but he was too jealous to do what was best for her. Luke felt bad for the guy. Kind of.

He couldn’t imagine being just friends with a woman like Hannah. Any man would be lucky to have her, and it would be torture to have her in his life but not be able to touch her intimately. He prayed to God she would come to her senses, and soon, because not being able to hold her, love her, laugh with her, was driving him crazy.

Knox was right—Luke did need to talk to her.

He shoved out of his chair, flipping off the lights as he went, and caught up to Knox in the lobby. “Hey. Wanna grab a drink?”

“Sure.”

Luke’s attention was drawn toward the reception area, now cluttered with a handful of knick-knacks and pictures. He hadn’t even noticed it on the way in.

“I forgot all about Vivi. Looks like she’s settling in okay.”

Knox rolled his eyes. “I’ll never understand why women feel the need to clutter every inch of space with knickknacks.”

“It’s not so bad.” Luke didn’t admit it out loud, but he kind of liked the lived-in feel. Vivi had obviously chosen to surround herself with stuff that made her happy. While Vivi was bubbly and outgoing, Knox was stark and stoic, and the décor in his office—or lack thereof—reflected his personality.

Luke thought of Hannah’s office and how welcoming it felt. He’d have to drop a word in Vivi’s ear about getting some pictures to spruce up the walls. And maybe some kind of plant.

He turned his attention back to Knox. “Baby sister bring a boyfriend home with her?”

“Absolutely not.” Knox growled. “I’ll kill anyone who gets close to her.”

“She’s what, twenty-two? It’s bound to happen. Remember what we were like at that age?”

Knox shot a glare Luke’s way. “Twenty-three. And don’t remind me.”

Knox pulled a keyring from his back pocket and locked the door behind them as they stepped into the humid night. Luke took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He’d give anything to be in bed next to Hannah right now instead of heading to a bar. The thought alone was distasteful. How he’d endured years of the bar scene, many nights with a different woman, he had no idea. Granted, he’d had a lot of fun, but it had never meant anything. Not until he met Hannah.

They fell into step together but remained silent as they walked toward the corner bar. Aptly named, The Shield was a popular hangout for local law enforcement, and Vantage had been welcomed in with open arms. It helped that they’d made it very clear to the locals that they wouldn’t step on any toes—they’d assist with investigations if needed and offer training operations but otherwise keep to themselves.