Page 43 of Mind Maze

Did Dad send him?

Is this his attempt to clean up some of this Romy mess?

Because she is messy. Ever since Theo brought her into our lives, she’s complicated everything. Does Dad see something I don’t? Am I getting in too deep with her?

The reality is…yes.

I’m beginning to truly care about her well-being. She’s more than just a problem to be managed. I didn’t want her, much like with Kaitlyn, but now I have her and I can’t ignore that.

“Who was that guy?” Romy finally asks, no longer brimming with irritation.

“Not sure. Scared him away, though.”

She’s silent for a beat as we cross the road to get to the next block. Wind sweeps between the buildings, pummeling us until we’re once again shielded by the next set of buildings.

“I think he wanted to hurt me,” she says, voice shaking. “Why?”

I am not about to explain to her the intricacies of the Crowne Unity Project or the secretive side project CUP Stars.

“I don’t know,” I state, “but you wouldn’t have had this issue had you not bolted without a word, not telling me where you’d gone.”

She shakes her head, huffing, a white cloud bursting out in front of her. “You can clearly track me down with no problems. Next time I’ll leave my phone at home.”

There won’t be a next time.

I’ll be damned if I let her slip from my grip a second time.

“You hurt my feelings last night,” she says softly. “I thought… I thought we were breaking new ground. I was wrong.”

Her words are a punch to my chest. I know I upset her last night. I’d intended to smooth things over this morning by taking her to breakfast. Having her as my enemy won’t do.

“I’m sorry,” I grit out. “I was getting too emotionally involved.”

She stops suddenly and turns, the box nearly smashing between us. Wide eyes peer up at me as she studies my expression, searching for lies. There are none.

I can’t help but lift a hand to smooth away her blond hair that whips into her face. She leans slightly into my palm. My thumb brushes over her cheek. So fucking soft.

“For the record,” she murmurs, “I’m confused about all this too.” Her lips curl into a small smile. “I don’t hate it.”

I’m bombarded by memories of last night, how we’d made out, fooled around, and nearly had sex. Again. My cock thickens at the reminder. I ache to take here to bed again.

No.

Abruptly, I pull away from her even though I’d rather be kissing her. If she’s disappointed, I wouldn’t know because hot anger burns through her. She stalks ahead of me, hugging her box to her chest.

We don’t touch or speak the rest of the way to the hotel. I sneak a glance at her on the elevator while heading to our floor, but she won’t look at me. Her cheeks are crimson from the wind and she wears a cold expression on her beautiful face.

Once inside the suite, we find Theo and Kaitlyn watching a Christmas movie on Netflix. Kaitlyn has a blanket stretched out on the floor and has her stuffed animals all surrounding her. Theo, oddly engrossed in the movie, waves from his roost on the sofa where he’s sprawled out.

“Come watch the movie,” Kaitlyn says to us, not sparing a glance. “We’re about to see Santa.”

The only place to sit is the love seat. I can tell Romy would rather sit on the floor beside Kaitlyn, but I’m not about to let that happen. She sets down the box and tells Kaitlyn she got the treats for her, then removes her purse and outerwear. I quickly remove my coat and grab hold of Romy’s hand before she can escape. She’s silent as I pull her down to sit with me on the love seat. Her body is stiff when I haul her to my side, but after a few uncomfortable seconds, she relaxes, resting her head against my chest.

As the tension bleeds from my body now that I know Romy’s safe, my mind wanders. A song playing in the background of the movie is the last thing I recall before drifting into a memory of the long past.

I wake, soaked in sweat, my heart racing wildly. The man who adopted me—Orion Crowne—sits at my bedside, frowning at me.

“There he is. You’re awake now. It was just a bad dream.”

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