Page 15 of Tainted Wings of Failure

"Do you want me to sleep in the guest room tonight?" he asks.

I stop in the doorway and let out a heavy sigh. "No. We had a disagreement, yes, but let's not do that. Sleeping apart won't magically solve the issue. If anything, it'll create distance between us. We should face this, not completely retreat into separate corners." I turn to face him and there is a moment of silence as his gaze meets mine. "Just give me time, okay?"

Chapter 8

Evelyn

It's been exactly two days since Noah told me the truth. Two days since I last spoke a word to him. The need for time to think turned from one night, to one day…and then to more. It's not that he hasn't tried to initiate conversation with me, including about the issue at hand or simple everyday stuff. But my head is in the clouds, working on autopilot, stuck in my routine, while I take a step back to pick up the pieces to put the puzzle back together. And I found myself guilty of the one thing I told him not to do. Retreating to my own corner, putting distance between us.

The sound of running water grabs my attention and my head whips in the direction of our en-suite bathroom. His last attempt to talk to me was this morning when he was looking for his glasses, which he has a habit of leaving where he can't find them. After that, complete silence.

With a heavy sigh, the air drains from my lungs and I collapse back into the pile of pillows in our bed. The invisible wall I built between us is crumbling. No matter how angry I am that he kept secrets from me, I can't solely blame him. I should have been more aware, more... something. All those little signs like his headaches and restlessness - I ignored them, didn't I? Or maybe I just didn't want to see them.

I perk up at the sound of the water slowing to a trickle until it stops completely, followed by the rustling of towels, and a few seconds later, the bathroom door swings open and Noah steps out in all his glory. My heart skips a beat at the sight of him, completely nude, walking across the room toward our walk-in closet. The short strands of his hair, still damp, stick out all messy. His skin is a light shade of red from the hot water. My eyes trace the familiar lines of his body, lingering on the countless scars that stretch across his body.

Keeping my distance from him has meant no cuddling, no kissing, no sex, all of which I'm starting to feel the consequences of. I love him and I crave his affection. I want to be close to him; I want to touch him. Every single cell in my body is screaming to reconnect with him.

Through the open door, I have a perfect view of him grabbing a pair of dark gray boxer briefs and slipping into them. Sucking my lower lip between my teeth, I watch as he adjusts himself until he is completely satisfied and walks back into our room.

I push myself back into a sitting position as he stops at the foot of the bed, his eyes scanning the room until he spots his glasses on the nightstand. After his unsuccessful search this morning, it took me exactly two minutes to find them in his favorite place to lose them: the shower. Almost every time he takes one, he forgets to remove them and only realizes it when he is already shampooing his hair.

"Babe, can we talk?" I break the awkward silence and he turns to me, his eyebrows lifting with surprise.

"Of course." He circles the foot of the bed and sits down on the edge on his side.

"This whole thing, I've read about it, I've watched reports, and I don't like it. Something doesn't seem quite right." I inch closer to him, and he twists to look at me.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I can't put my finger on the exact root cause, it's a gut feeling that something is wrong."

"Dove, nothing is wrong. I checked all the information Kyle was given and I did my own research. It's a clean and easy job."

"Clean and easy? You're walking into a lion's den. There is literally no information about Ash Lancaster other than what has been shown in the recent news."

"Everything will be fine. It's all planned down to the smallest detail."

"Planned out? Are you serious?" I ask and my jaw drops in disbelief.

"Yes?" He furrows his eyebrows. "A long distance kill. We monitor him through the night and put a bullet through his skull when the time is right."

"No." I shove the blanket off me and get on my knees, scooting closer until I can grab his face, cupping his cheeks in my hands and forcing him to look at me. His expression is completely unfazed. "You're not going! Do I really have to repeat myself?"

His face hardens, any emotion draining from his features. "Evelyn, I’ve already set everything up. I’m going.”

"You did what? Are you out of your mind?" My heart sinks like a brick was tied to it and thrown into the ocean.

"Dove…"

"You just went ahead and made up your mind. You didn’t even give me a chance," I say, my voice shaking with a mix of anger and distress. "You said you would give me time to think!" I raise my voice. "You've already decided you're going, no matter what I say." I pull away from him, climb out of bed and step in front of him. "If you didn't even care if I said yes or no, why did you ask? Why, if you don't care about me? About us?"

"Evelyn…" He draws out my name with a growl, his eyes wide, his pupils dilating in a warning, predatory way.

"Don't Evelyn me. You're making your priorities clear right now and I'm not one of them."

"That's not true," he insists, pushing himself off the bed and glaring at me, forcing me to stumble backwards as he invades my personal space.

"You are choosing this job over me, over us. Obviously, I'm not your priority, otherwise you'd be trying to find another way to satisfy your cravings!" I raise my hand, point one of my fingers at his chest and bore it into his sternum.

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