Page 51 of Changing Lanes

“Who the fuck’s in there?”

Beckett’s bellow followed by pounding on the locked bathroom door cause me to drop the bottle I’d just been replacing on the tub insert and it twirls between my feet like an enthusiastic game of Spin-The-Bottle.

“Shit,” I curse, reaching for it.

“Paige? Are you in there?”

My eyes roll so hard I fear they’ll get stuck.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Who else would it be? Despite my roommate being a bear to live with, my hair isn’t yellow and my name sure the hell isn’t Goldilocks. “Can I finish my shower now?”

When I’m met with silence, I rinse off the rest of the soap with shaky hands before cutting the water and wrapping a towel around my body.

Just out of the door, I run smack dab into a very familiar, very annoying wall.

I pop both my hip and head to the side, asking, “Can I help you?”

“You were in there alone?” Beckett’s eyes dart over my shoulder as he swallows noisily.

“What gave it away?” I ask, checking over my shoulder and seeing I left the lid on his body wash up.

Ah, shit.

Still looking past me, he says, “I didn’t see your bike outside.”

Satisfied with his own findings, he finally drops his gaze to look at me and dark clouds pass over his face that have nothing to do with the storm raging outside.

“What the hell happened to your face?”

Before I can get a word out, soft hands gingerly cup my cheeks as Beckett lifts my face for closer inspection. Gently tilting my head back, he leans down, getting a better look at my lip. The intensity in his eyes mixed with his light touch has me fidgeting in my towel.

“Do you mind? I’m naked.”

His moody sky gaze flicks to mine briefly, almost in annoyance, before dropping to my mouth again.

Completely ignoring what I just said, he demands, “Who did this to you?”

I scoff, shaking off his hands. Strangely, I get the sensation I’m missing something.

Pushing past him, I make it to my door before his hand is gripping my elbow, stopping me in my tracks.

“Paige, who did that to you? You haven’t been here for three days and you show up with a busted lip. What am I supposed to think?”

Beckett’s quiet voice raises the hairs on the back of my neck as I fight a shiver, the sound like a warm bath after a long day I want to get lost in for hours. Or days. Maybe longer.

I manage to step away, if only to keep from going to him, and get a good look at him finally. Beneath a dark hoodie, disheveled hair sticks out at all angles, casting shadows over bloodshot eyes with bags just below. His muscles are poised for battle despite his soothing speech. And while his eyebrows pinch together, his jaw ticks along with the seconds, drawing this out that much longer.

An entire war wages in his every fiber as he stands before me but I’m not sure with who. He’s as confusing as my own feelings.

What’s going on here? This isn’t the Beckett I left.

Just when I think he’s going to stomp away, he closes the distance, slowly lifting his hands back to my face, and I flinch when his thumb traces over the cut. His sharp inhale pierces me to my spot.

“Who did this?” His whisper is a scream into the void I hold in my heart right now.

“I’m fine.” I shake my head softly, lowering my voice as well. “It was an accident at work.”

His eyes flit between mine. “Where have you been?”