Page 79 of Chemistry: The Chemist

He pulled back, eyes on me, again. “If I never get anything else in my life right, I’ll get this right. I’m loyal to a fault, Eden. Let that be the mustard seed. Our mustard seed.”

When our lips rejoined, the elevator began climbing. I pulled away, unsure of where it was taking us. I pressed the button that would lead us to my place swiftly, knowing if I missed the opportunity there wouldn’t be any telling when we’d make it to my floor.

Anxiety swelled in my throat as we waited for the unknown to reveal itself. Chem never took his eyes off me. I could feel him a few feet away, in the corner of the elevator with his hat pulled down over his face. He was breaking protocol for me. This was completely out of his norm. I was completely out of his norm.

The second he decided to step outside of his comfort zone, it was into the arms of a woman who was employed to apprehend him and everyone he was associated with. I grew dizzy thinking about the pain it would inflict on us both.

Luckily, the doors opened exactly where I needed them to, and with perfect timing. Chem stepped off right behind me. He wasn’t very close, but he wasn’t very far as we strolled down the hallway.

When I made it to my door, I hesitated, waiting for him to catch up. To my surprise, almost immediately after stopping, his hands slid down the front of the black leggings he’d supplied. His index, middle, and ring fingers caressed my pussy, making my head fall backward onto his shoulder.

“Cheeeem.”

“I’ll be back, Choc. And I won’t be long. This shit better stay put until I return. You hear me?”

“Ummm hmmm,” I groaned, grinding against him to increase the friction.

Abruptly, he pulled out, and before I was able to get myself together, he vanished. From one side to the other, I turned, trying to figure out where he’d gone. The pinging of the elevator shifted my line of vision. Just as the doors closed, I noticed the black jacket of his suit. The hat he wore covered half the back of his head.

Incognito. A ghost. I’d known him all along. Studied him. Searched for him. And there he was, taking off with pieces of me I’d never get back.

I stormed inside of my place with the heaviest heart one could bear. I didn’t make it past the threshold. The door slammed behind me and my back slammed against it.

My body sunk deeper and deeper until my bottom was on the floor and my heart was beside it. Pulling my legs up to my chest, I laid my head against my knees. And for the first time in almost three years, I wept.

Not because of the task at hand but because the precious soul was at stake. One who’d seen awful things. Though I didn’t know exactly what, he was proof. His demeanor. His reservations. His tone. His boundaries. His barriers. His walls were slowly coming down, exposing uncharted territory that was so damn warm and welcoming. The monster he could be was nothing in comparison to the man I knew he was deep, deep down inside.

Pull yourself together, Egypt.

I remained. Tearful cheeks soiled the fabric against my body. The leggings caught the discarded saltiness that fell from my eyes. Wishing I could blink and it all made sense, I joined my lids and rocked from one side to the other.

Two hours later the floor was still my resting place. The sound of the blaring cell pulled me out of the dump I’d crawled into. I found it hard to catch my footing as I stood and fought to balance myself.

Aimlessly, I ambled through the flat, immediately forgetting where I was headed and why. I flopped onto my bed, allowing the silence to overcome me. It was welcomed. My thoughts had eaten me alive already. Unfortunately, it was contaminated with the annoying sounds of the cell I remembered coming into the room for.

Shit. I shuffled around the bed, reaching over and pulling the desk drawer out. I retrieved the cell and pressed it against my face after answering. Resentment thickened the air around me.

Swollen eyes tightened as I spoke, greeting the caller on the other end. For the first time since he’d been introduced as my partner, I had no interest in talking to him.

“Yes?”

I tucked my chin and lowered my head, sighing as I patted the soreness around my eyes.

“Yes?” Bradford scoffed. “We’ve been worried sick about you, ready to round up the troops.”

“You know the rules, Bradford.”

Forty-eight. If I was obviously compromised and didn’t make contact within forty-eight hours, the team was to come searching for me. Even if they had, I doubted they’d find me. Chem was much too smart for us. He’d evaded us for years. I was the only thing that could change that and knowing I had made me crumble inside.

“And they were the only reason we didn’t comb the city looking for you.”

“We’ve combed the city for years and found nothing. I doubt you would’ve found me.”

“Jack has been calling you all fucking day, man. Even Macy was worried. God, Johanson. Do you know what the hell you’ve done for us? I have been trying to wrap my head around this shit for nearly two days. Crack it wide open!”

“I know.”

Sighing, I laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. I couldn’t get comfortable, so I found myself sitting up, again, staring out of the window.

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