Page 105 of Bossy Hero

I slump my head back and stare at the ceiling. “And the two of you?”

Without an ounce of hesitation, he emphatically states, “I love her.”

No shit, Sherlock.

“I know. Judging by the scene today, I’m guessing she didn’t know about me being alive until recently, right?”

“Correct,” he confirms.

Wait a fucking second. Not tellingmeis one thing, but I’m not the only one he lied to. He kept it from her for their entire relationship. Probably meeting her under false pretenses.

That’s... cruel. And Tomer’s a lot of things, but none of them are cruel.

“You told me you’d been with her for a year, right? How the fuck did you manage that?”

Head down, he confesses, “She didn’t even know my real name or where I worked until last week.”

Unbelievable.

For the first time, my volume spikes into a near shout. “Jesus fuck, kid.Why? What the hell were you thinking?”

“I only wanted to help her. Protect her. Look after her. It wasn’t supposed to get... complicated the way it did. After I got her set up with a job and a safe place to live, I tried to back away. To leave her alone. I tried so damn hard.”

His anguish helps quash my ire. Barely.

But some cold honesty sneaks out of me with my next breath. “I’d beat the shit out of you or fire you if I didn’t know you the way I do.”

“You’re not gonna fire me?”

The headache I’ve been fighting all day flares to a full-blown knife in the skull. “No. I’m gonna kick you the fuck out of my office right now.”

I’ve heard enough. And now I’m getting pissed at him on my...daughter’sbehalf.Gulp.

“I didn’t tell you how I met her and how we...”

Pressing to my feet, I pin him with a glare so he doesn’t finish that sentence. “If I hear much more of this fucked-up story right now, I can’t promise not to beat your ass or tell you to pack your desk.”

Or both.

He sits there, dumbstruck and silent, while I will away this headache and the entire fucking day.

Sadly, I fail at both of those.

A gentle knock diverts our focus toward the door.

“Come in,” I respond gruffly.

Maddie’s sweet face sneaks in through the door crack, her eyes landing on mine. Like a salve to a burn, the sight of her eases my misery.

Despite the horrific circumstance that has her with me at Redleg today, I couldn’t be more grateful for her presence.

I beckon her inside with a tip of my head. “Tomer was just leaving.”

All the peace Maddie brings me as she enters my office is tossed in a blender when I catch sight of Lettie a few feet behind her.

I’ve always thought of myself as somewhat unflappable.

Consider me the fuck flapped.

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