Page 28 of Restrained

“What happened to your hand?” Her voice is low again, barely a whisper. I want to tell her everything. And I know that’s very, very dangerous.

“We should get back to work.”

Now she looks slightly hurt, but she nods her head curtly and picks up her iPad. “Alright.”

“I’m sorry about your brother,” I blurt out the awkward apology. She nods her head politely but doesn’t lift her eyes.

What the hell is the matter with me?

14

LOLA

It’s late when I arrive back home after working with Hayden most of the day. Working.

Can I even call it that?

I spent most of my day obsessing about that scar on his hand. He let me in only a little, but all it did was leave me craving more. He wasn’t a spoiled rich kid like all the boys I grew up with.

I knew there was something else to him from day one, but I didn’t expect him to open up about it.

Of course, he shut down as soon as I asked him about his scar, which left me thinking about only that.

Who is he really?He’s from the same area as I am, except probably not the wealthy Mission Hills part of Kansas City where my family lived.

An odd warm shiver flows through my body, thinking about my finger dragging over the jagged scar on his skin. I’ve never had anyone have this type of effect on me. I push the door from the garage open and nearly jump out of my skin when there is a lot of movement in the dark living room.

I can barely make out two shadowy forms jumping off the couch and scrambling around which I take as my cue to turn around and shield my eyes.

Oh. Shit.

“Lola. I am so?—”

I raise my hand in the air, silencing Viv as she starts her apology. “No need to apologize.”

This is so awkward. The lamp on the side table flicks on, and I see a disheveled Sawyer and Vivienne before me. Sawyer is still tugging his shirt down over a set of impressive abs as Viv combs her hair with her fingers.

“I should go.” Sawyer looks like a teenager caught by his girlfriend’s parents, and it’s pretty comical.

“Why?” I smile smugly at the guy I’ve known for years. He was Asher’s best friend for a long time, and although I hate this for my brother, it’s good to see Vivienne happy. And I've seen Sawyer around Sebastian, he loves that kid.

His handsome face only gets more handsome when he smirks, like every fucking guy I know. “Because I'm smart enough to know where your loyalty lies.”

My eyes drift to Viv and then slowly back to Sawyer. “You’re both adults.”

I see the hint of guilt in Sawyer’s eyes, and even though I knew he cared about Ash, I didn’t realize he was human. He always seemed like a cocky asshole. He turns to look over his shoulder at Viv. “I’m gonna go.”

She nods her head slowly at him. “I’ll see you soon.”

His confidence is back as he squeezes her much smaller hand in his and winks at her. “Yeah, you will.”

The smile on her face is full of both hope and sorrow before he places a quick kiss on her lips and gives me a wave before exiting through the front door.

“Sorry, Viv. Didn’t mean to ruin your night.”

She shrugs her small shoulders and takes a seat on the couch. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t...” She smooths her hair down. “I didn’t mean to lose control like that.”

I take a seat next to her, intrigued and still high from my conversation with Hayden earlier. “You did with Asher too, right?”

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