Page 28 of The Acquisition

"Oh, yeah? If you're really over it, why do you leave the room every time I'm around?"

"I said I was over it, I didn't say I like you." Turning on my heel I marched off to my new bedroom. I'd call Colt from there and figure everything out.

TEN

COLTER

My apartment felt empty without Jana. She'd only stayed with me for one night, but it was enough to show me how little life there was in this place. As if I conjured her by thinking of her, my phone rang.

"Do you miss me already?"

"Can you come and get me?"

"Is Sabrina getting on your nerves already? I know she's pretty cheerful, but you get used to it."

"No, she actually went on a date with Aaron from accounting. But Malcolm is here."

"I didn't think about them being friends." My keys were on the table by the entrance, and I headed straight for them. "I'm on my way."

Sabrina refused to let me get her an apartment in my building. She was usually hesitant to take money from me, unlike our sister Waverly. I made sure that Sabrina made enough money to rent an apartment in a relatively safe part of the city, in a nice building. Funny, when she first moved into the building, I didn't have a problem with it. Now that Jana was going to live there I was finding problems with the location and amenities of the building.

For example, I wasn't loving the fact it took me over fifteen minutes to drive a few blocks, because traffic in Seattle was nearly always at rush hour capacity. Every moment I was stuck in traffic was time Jana was stuck around that prick, Graham. To make it worse, when I finally did get close, I had to park nearly half a block away in a pay lot because there wasn't dedicated parking for her building.

Once I had my ticket in my pocket, I forced myself not to run down the street. The time it took to walk two blocks didn't cool my anger one iota. Sabrina's building didn't have a doorman, so I let myself in using the spare keys she'd given me long ago. Storming up the stairs I stopped outside her door and could hear Malcolm's muffled voice inside the apartment.

Bang, bang. "Jana, come out and talk to me." Bang, bang.

What did he think knocking was going to get him? It was clear she didn't want to talk to him.

"C'mon. I'm going to be around. Don't you think it's better to hash this out than keep avoiding me? I know I was a prick, okay? I was a stupid kid, and I'm sorry. Just give me a chance."

Fuck that. As quietly as possible, I let myself into the apartment.

"A chance for what, Graham?" The frostiness in my voice was at odds with the fire I felt building inside me. It had been years since I was in a fight, but the urge to pound my fist into the pretty lothario's face was strong.

"Greyson, I didn't see you come in," he grumbled. He looked over his shoulder at Jana's door and frowned.

I wasn't sure if he was really wanting to make amends or if he wanted another shot. Jana might be unsure if starting something with me was a bad idea, but I wasn't. There were roadblocks, but I was willing to bulldoze through them all. She'd awoken something in me I hadn't felt since I was a teenager, and I wasn't going to let it go. Not like I did with Jenny. That was a mistake I didn't plan to make twice.

"Colt?" Jana called from inside her room.

"Yeah, I'm here."

The door creaked open, and she finally came out of her empty bedroom. I muffled a curse because she definitely wasn't prepared to sleep here. Which meant leaving my apartment this quickly was her way of running. I'd have to figure out a way to convince her to stick around.

Maybe Beck wasn't so wrong in the way he orchestrated the beginning of his relationship with my daughter. Don't get me wrong, a part of me wanted to punch him for propositioning her, but I couldn't deny he had made up for his astounding idiocy. Maybe I needed to be less of a gentleman and save us from Jana's need to do everything on her own.

A smile started to pull at my lips. I knew exactly what I needed to do. I just hoped Jana didn't strangle me when I told her.

"So you're going to run away from me again?" Malcolm asked her. "We're going to have to work through this eventually."

Jana gestured emphatically between the two of them. "There is nothing here. I don't know what you want from me, but whatever it is I'm not interested. We had a thing, and you didn't have the balls to man up and tell me you weren't interested. Instead, I had to find you in bed with that bitch Matilda Forsythe to learn you'd moved on."

He shoved his hand through his hair, tugging on the golden strands. "I said I was an asshole. I can't change it. I'm asking for a chance here."

"For what," I interrupted.

"I don't see how this conversation has anything to do with you, Greyson," he snapped.

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