Page 29 of Fast Justice

That shouldn’t have puffed up his ego so much, but it did. Mal nodded at her once. “I’ll stay in here until you want to leave.”

“Are you sure? I don’t know how long it’ll take for him to wake up.”

“I’m sure.” He could stretch out on the floor and sleep if he needed to. This room was more comfortable than a lot of places he’d bedded down in during his military and DEA career.

“Okay then. Thank you.” She flashed him a grateful smile that set off a pang of yearning inside him before walking out after her parents, leaving Mal alone with his thoughts. Mostly they were telling him this was the right thing to do, but still a damn bad idea as far as his heart was concerned.

Having Rowan at his place, under the same roof. Her sleeping in the bed across the hall. Every time he saw her there, every moment he spent with her in his intimate space a reminder of what might have been.

Blowing out a deep breath, he sank into a chair and pulled out his phone to call Hamilton and Taggart. Only a few days, he told himself. Rowan would only be with him for a day, maybe two at most before they arranged a security detail for her.

The Navy had taught him how to mask his emotions half a lifetime ago. He could keep his true feelings for her hidden a couple days, no problem.

Chapter Nine

Rowan walked into the entryway of Malcolm’s condo late the next morning and waited while he closed and locked the door behind them, the weight of exhaustion pressing down on her and a low-grade anxiety churning inside. Malcolm had waited to bring her here until after Kevin had finally woken up. The drive here from the hospital had been tense, neither of them saying anything.

It was strange to be here again.

The one time she’d come before was to have dinner with him one night about a week before she broke things off, the two of them eating at his kitchen table together. He’d cooked for her and set the table with candles, even though she could only stay long enough to eat and have a short conversation before returning to the office. He’d done it just so they could spend a little time together slotted into their hectic schedules.

Now the memory made her sad. He’d only offered this solution out of some sense of obligation to her or maybe to Kevin, though she was grateful no matter the reason because right now she didn’t know where else to turn. While she was here she might be a little uncomfortable with the strain between them, but without a doubt she would be safe. Malcolm would make sure of it.

“One of my teammates will bring a suitcase over for you later tonight,” he said, his tone brusque, all business as he hung up his windbreaker on a peg beside the door.

“Okay. Thank you.” This was more awkward than she’d expected, and she was still worried about her brother. Kevin had come to briefly before she’d left, long enough for them to tell him what had happened. He took it all in, reached for her hand.I’m glad you’re okay.God, she still had a lump in her throat from that.

“You can take the guestroom.” Malcolm walked past her into the kitchen, his clean, citrusy scent drifting back to her. “Pantry’s here, and help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge. I don’t have much in there at the moment, but if you give me a list I’ll go grab whatever you need.”

She was merely an overnight guest to him, and from his demeanor not an entirely welcome one. Rowan swallowed and squeezed the handle of her briefcase tighter, feeling uncharacteristically small and vulnerable as she stood there in his kitchen. “Thanks.”

He stopped by the kitchen counter, faced her with his hands on his hips. Gorgeous, strong, masculine. And completely unreachable across the chilly divide between them. “You hungry?”

“No.” Shaken, lost and alone, yes. Definitely not hungry.

His expression softened slightly but he made no move toward her, his earlier attentiveness at the hospital long gone. His hot and cold routine confused her. Frustrated her. But she wasn’t going to ask him about it. “Why don’t you go get settled, then. Take a bath, maybe lie down for a bit.”

She wanted him to hold her. Tight, like he used to. The way he had at the hospital. Like he still cared. She’d worked long and hard to establish a reputation for inner strength. The world saw her as strong, driven, not needing anyone else.

It was a lie.

Underneath that carefully constructed façade, she was lonely and missed the man standing across the room. And right now she was scared and worried and sick with guilt over her brother.

“Okay,” she murmured, shoving her feelings deep down inside. What Kevin had said to her before he’d left her office was true, but she wasn’t about to embarrass herself by throwing herself at Malcolm and getting her heart crushed when he rejected her. The man in front of her now was hard, remote. She didn’t know how to deal with him.

The guestroom was at the far end of the condo, across the hall from his room. She shut the door behind her and faced the queen-size bed with its thick burgundy comforter, the window beside it looking out over the park behind the building. Setting down her briefcase, she let out a slow, deep breath.

Golden yellow sunlight streamed through the bright green leafy canopies of the oak and maple trees planted between the playground and the road. Young children played on the swings and teeter-totters or drew chalk pictures on the sidewalk while their parents looked on.

So innocent, oblivious to the dangers in this world. It was her job to ensure some of those dangers were put behind bars where they couldn’t threaten anyone again.

Today, her lifelong goal had almost killed her brother.

Tears blurring her vision, she looked away from the park and took in the rest of the room. A long wooden dresser sat along the far wall, a giant mirror on top. It looked old, maybe from the early 1900s. Next to it was the door to the en suite. She would have liked a shower, but she had nothing else to change into and didn’t feel like putting her bloodstained work clothes back on.

So she lay down on the bed instead and tried to get a grip on her turbulent emotions. Within moments, the lock on the box she’d shoved everything into shattered, hitting her in an unforgiving torrent. The tears she’d been holding at bay broke free, shaking her shoulders with their force. She was careful to stay quiet, not wanting Malcolm to hear her.

Finally the tears slowed, leaving her exhausted and taking in quivering breaths. She closed her sore, swollen eyelids, the sound of the children playing in the park coming in faintly through the window.

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