Page 105 of Breaking the Sinner

“She didn’t tell you.”

“Uh…no.” Cobra sighed, looking at all the gifts he’d brought for her, like the stupid sap he’d become. His stomach wrenched so hard it damn near snapped in two. Sick heat flooded him, like the feeling that came before puking. “Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.”

“I’m sure she would have liked these gifts, though,” Sophie said, crossing her arms. Trying to find the bright side in the fact that his entire world had just bottomed out.

“Are you serious? She left?”

Sophie nodded.

“Why did she leave?”

“Because she’s always wanted to,” Sophie said.

Cobra grunted, tugging at the front of his hair. He’d combed it flat and neat, but now he could care less. Desperation boiled up inside him, threatening to spill out. “Why wouldn’t she tell me?”

“Uh, probably because you left her stranded in Fresno and didn’t answer your phone for four days?”

Sophie’s words were like a slap to the face. He shook his head, but he couldn’t argue with her.

“I know,” he finally conceded. “I’m a fuckup. I used to be, I mean.” A terse sigh escaped him. “I’m working on it. You know? I’m fucking trying.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll be happy to know you stopped by,” Sophie said, with that tone that signaledmove along now.

“How am I supposed to get ahold of her?” he asked. “I’ve been calling her for days now. Where did she go?”

A mysterious look crossed her face. “You should try e-mailing her. That will be the best way.”

Cobra got out his phone and typed in Gen’s e-mail as Sophie related it, his hands shaking. All he could think of was Stella. Was she hungry? Did she need to go for a walk? There was so much to learn and tackle. Now…he had to do it on his own.

“So where did she go?” he asked again.

“Bye, Cobra. I’ll make sure she knows you stopped by.” Sophie offered one last smile before shutting the door in his face.

He gripped the top of his head, staring down at these proclamations of love that had nowhere to go.

What the fuck now?

Cobra tore off the lid of the box. Stella’s big brown eyes swept up to him, and he picked her up, tucking her back into the crook of his elbow. In the space meant just for her.

“I gotcha, little girl,” he whispered, tossing the daisies inside the box. He pressed a kiss to the soft fur of her head, then picked up the box and stormed down the hallway.

Hurt swirled through him. Even though it had no reason to.

He had hurt Gen first, and he’d hurt her worse.

Chapter 41

Cobra snuck Stella into the apartment in his jacket, leaving the box and daisies in the car. This was risky enough; he didn’t need to draw more attention to himself than necessary.

Both Klay and Tyler were kicked out on the couches, watching a movie. Cobra nodded his greeting and went straight for his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Then he made a little nest for Stella with an extra blanket at the end of his bed, pee pad on the floor beside it.

“Well, what do you think?” Cobra stood, hands on his hips. He frowned, looking around his dingy room. “This is home.”

The dented walls, the peeling off-white paint, the shitty brown carpet that seemed to be the perfect shade ofbroke loser.

“Not much to look at, huh?” he asked Stella, who curled up in a small ball. She drifted off a moment later. Poor thing was probably tired from all the car rides. He let himself out of the bedroom quietly, joining Tyler and Klay on the couches.

“Anything good on?”

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