Page 137 of On the Double

“The stunt I pulled? You were there too. You put fucking makeup on me!”

“To make you look like you weren’t about to die,” he said slowly. “You’re the stupid fucker who allowed someone to shove a stake through your side.”

He had a point there. It was an unfortunate accident that earned me not only a dressing-down from my girlfriend, but also a punch to the face. I could still feel the sting of her hit if my eye twitched the right way.

“It doesn’t matter. This job went fine and nothing’s going to happen to ruin my night.”

He groaned, tossing his head back. “Really?”

“I don’t believe in jinxes. Not anymore.”

“Oh, suddenly it’s all stupid?”

“Well, it is when there’s no merit behind it.”

With everything unloaded and nothing more to do, I shoved the last of my shit in my locker and slammed the door. “I’m heading home.”

“Not to her place?”

“She can come to me,” I said confidently. “We don’t spend a lot of time at her place. Not enough privacy,” I added.

He nodded, but was already walking out the door, ready to see his own woman. Whistling, I called Harper, waiting and waiting for her to answer. When it went to voicemail, I frowned. She never didn’tanswer a call when I was out on a job. I called again with the same result.

“Well, fuck,” I muttered.

I really didn’t want to go to her place, but it looked like that was what was going to happen. I grabbed my bag and tossed it in my truck, then drove the two minutes to her place. She never told me why they suddenly decided to move, but I didn’t question it too much. After all, it wasn’t like it really affected me one way or the other.

When I pulled into their drive, I noticed her car was there, along with Oliver’s. Getting out, I was just about to knock on the door when it swung open suddenly.

“Hey,” I grinned at Oliver. “Where’s Harper? She wasn’t answering her phone.”

“Oh…uh…she’s sleeping.”

“Sleeping?” I scoffed. “It’s seven-thirty.”

“Well, she didn’t sleep well last night and…she’s not feeling good.”

“Oh. Well, I’ll just slip in and see if she’s awake.”

I shoved past him, not really caring that he tried to block my path. If she was sick, I definitely didn’t want to catch it, but there was still that tinge of fear from the last time I hadn’t heard from her, only to find out she had been in an accident.

When I pushed the door open and found her sleeping in bed, I exhaled a huge breath, grateful she was really okay. I shut the door behind me and crept over to the bed, slipping in beside her. When she didn’t shift even a little, I ran my hand over her back, hoping I could “accidentally” wake her up. But she didn’t even move.

Sighing, I laid back and stared at the ceiling, feeling my own eyes drift shut just a few moments later.

I sat upright in bed at the sound of vomiting. Rubbing my eyes, I slid my hand across the bed, only to find it empty. I rushed over to the ensuite and let myself in, finding Harper kneeling over the toilet. Fucking hell.

With a quick glance at the clock, I noted I had been asleep for ten fucking hours already. How had I slept that long? I grabbed a washcloth from the closet and ran it under cold water, then rang it out and placed it on the back of her neck.

“You okay?” I asked around a yawn.

She groaned, resting her head on the toilet seat, shaking her head slightly.

“You should call in sick today.”

She nodded, but otherwise didn’t move.

“All done?”

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