Page 50 of You Belong With Me

Drying off quickly, I throw my clothes and shoes on, grab my shit, then leave. Halfway down the hallway, I remember her apartment key, so I double back and grab it from my nightstand, then head out again. My car is parked in the driveway, and I get in, peeling out into the road.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I should have had McKnight drop me off at her place.

The drive to her apartment usually takes ten minutes from Rush House, but tonight, it only takes me five. I park, and get out, slamming my car door shut. As I walk up to her door, I see a former Navy SEAL standing at attention right outside. He’s a guy we’ve used many times before.

“Is she home?” I ask.

He nods once. “She hasn’t left the apartment since yesterday.”

I swallow. “Any visitors?”

“One female, light brown hair, medium build, five-foot-six. She arrived yesterday, and left three hours later,” he says.

Lux.

With a clipped nod, I knock on the door. Nothing. No sound from inside.

My gaze slides to the former Navy SEAL. “You can go,” I tell him. “I’ll take it from here. Grab your guy from the back.”

He hesitates at first, but ultimately nods, and walks around the building to call his comrade off. I wait until I see both men walk to their van, and drive off. Turning to the door again, I pull the key from my pocket and slide it into the lock. Opening the door, I step inside.

Wyn is on the bed, facing me, her back pressed against the wall—and she looks terrified. After everything that’s happened,she probably thinks I’m Gabriel. But as her eyes adjust to me, that fear doesn’t fade…

“Wyn,” I say, stepping forward. “Why the fuck weren’t you answering me? I was worried…”

She scooches off the mattress, and stands, facing me. But the look of sheer terror on her face is what I still can’t reconcile. Her gaze darts around the room like she’s looking for an escape…or a weapon.

The fuck?

“Wyn…” I say, taking another step toward her. She flinches, but her back is to the wall, and she can’t go anywhere. She looks like a trapped animal. “What the fuck is going on? Why are you acting like this?” I ask.

Then it dawns on me. Someone must have told her what I was charged with. Why I was arrested. Of course, they did. Information spreads like wildfire around here.

“The charges were dropped…” I say. “I’m good now. They don’t have enough evidence to charge me…”

When that doesn’t wash away the fear on her face, I know I’m fucked. She knows more. Only a handful of people are aware of the surveillance video, but that’s enough. One of them obviously got to Wyn.

I push out a breath, my heart flopping around in my chest like a landed fish. “Whatever it is youthinkyou know, Wyn…let me explain.”

She shakes her head. “You need to leave.”

I tilt my head back and laugh at the absurdity of what’s happening right now. I can’t fucking believe this. After everything that’s happened between us, this is it? Afterfinallyfinding peace with her, she wants me to just walk away? Nah, I can’t accept that. Iwon’taccept that.

If it were any other chick, then sure. Who cares, right? Wet, willing cunts are a dime a dozen. But with Wyn, Idocare. I care far more than I should.

Another step forward. Her studio is small, so I’m only a couple of steps away now. “I’m not leaving, Wyn. We both know that.”

Her throat moves as she swallows, her body plastered against the curtains that are pulled across her French doors. “Did you do it?”

My eyes narrow. Okay, well, that confirms it. Someone told her what was on that video.Fuck.

But I play stupid because I need to know what she’s been told. “Did I do what, Pretty Thing?”

“Don’t call me that,” she says stiffly, but at least she’s still talking, so I’ll take it. “And you know what I’m asking you.”

I advance again. Now I’m only a few inches away. I could reach out and touch her, and I itch to do just that, but I manage to keep my hands at my sides, balled into fists. “Do you think I’m capable of murder?”

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