Page 37 of Rough Return

When the front door opened and closed, she dried her face with her palms and stood. Okay. Crying could wait. She walked into the hallway and slammed into Grier’s chest.

He looked down at her, holding her shoulders to keep her steady. She wiggled free and stepped back.

“Have you been crying?”

She cleared her throat and hoped she could sound as angry as she felt. Or at least as sarcastic. “Yes, Grier. I cry myself to sleep every night you’re not here.”

He didn’t grin. Didn’t come back with some sexy answer that would make her toes curl inside her shoes. He stood still, not blinking. Maybe not even breathing. “Fiona, we have to talk.”

He turned and walked downstairs. She took a second to expel the breath she’d been holding before following him down. With his back to her, so she didn’t have to look into his lying eyes, she could have imagined he was there for her, had come to tell her he wanted their marriage to work. But her mind told her heart to shut the hell up. He didn’t want to be with her. Wouldn’t want their kid. Wouldn’t be any better of a father than he’d been husband.

But she needed to hear what he had to say, decide how she would handle it. Letting Hamilton have him would kill her. “What do you want?”

He turned and raked his fingers through his hair. It hung free around his face and fell back as soon as he moved his hands. “Sit down.”

“It’s my house, Grier. I’ll decide if I sit or stand.” She wouldn’t let him tower over her while he talked. “What do you want?” She couldn’t find a better question.

“The shipments.”

Oh, God. Was he here to confess?

“What about them?”

He sat on the coffee table, leaned with his elbows on his knees, and folded his hands in front of him. “It’s an inside job, and I should’ve told you.”

Yeah. Quite the understatement there. “Why didn’t you?”

“I wasn’t sure.” He hung his head. “I’m still not.”

God, she hated him. Everything about him. Except she didn’t. She only hoped that if she told herself she did often enough, eventually, she’d believe it. “Then why are you here?”

A little part of her wanted him to tell her he’d come for her. A very little part. The third eyelash from the left on her right eye. That part of her hoped…

“Because Sage is going to call you and tell you I lied to him.” His voice cracked and Fiona looked up. “And you’re going to believe him because I’ve been a shit. An asshole, even.”

She nodded. “Yeah.” He’d been worse than that, but she remained silent.

“And I’m so sorry, Fi.” He stood, and she backed up a step. Grier nodded and closed his eyes. “He already called.”

“You lied about where you were tonight.”

“That doesn’t mean I would do this. I would never hurt you or this club.”

Oh, that was rich. The most ridiculous lie he’d told yet. She cocked an eyebrow. “Seriously? That’s what you’re going with?” Fire burned in her blood. “You wouldn’t hurt me? Well, let’s see if that’s true, shall we?” Dear Lord, there were so many ways to prove that a lie, she didn’t even know where to start. “You have done nothing but hurt me since you’ve been back. You don’t come home. You fuck me senseless then walk out and accuse me of screwing Tyler Sedotal.” Yeah. That one hurt. “My dad trusted you even though you ran out on us, all of us, for your little friend and his… woman.” She shook her head, hoping for the strength to make it through kicking his ass out of her house. “Everything you’ve said and everything you’ve done since you came back from your little island paradise has been a lie.”

“Fiona.” The pain in his voice almost undid her will. And when he reached for her, she curled her fingers into a fist. She would not touch him. No sir.

“Don’t. Please. Don’t.”

“You have to listen to me. Please.” Softer, he said again, “Please.”

She shrugged as if her heart hadn’t shattered, as if she had more than a few minutes before she’d be a sobbing mess worthy of a telethon in her benefit. And because her legs wouldn’t support her anymore, she moved to the sofa and sat. “Is this gonna be a dramatic performance? Should I get a popcorn and soda?”

He sighed and sat on the table again in front of her. “I lied about tonight because I was waiting to tail the truck.” He looked down. “I wanted to follow Sage and Sedotal.”

“Why?” It didn’t take a genius to turn the tables and throw his friends under that runaway bus.

“Because. Every time, one or both of them knew the details of every stolen shipment. The routes that were taken, even when you switched up and used decoy trucks. Decoy trucks that no one ever bothered.”