Page 39 of When We Break

“Where are you, and what time is it there?” I ask Connor.

“I’m in Paris, and it’s late. What are you doing?”

I bite my lip, wondering if I should tell him about my date.

“Skyla?”

“Well, I was just going to take a shower. I had a date last night—slash—today.” I bite my lip again as silence descends over the line.

“With whom?” he asks, his voice hard.

“Stop it. I’m great. I had a nice evening with a nice guy, who isn’t a psychopath, thank you very much.”

“How do youknow?”

“How doyouknow that the women you sleep with aren’t psychopaths? Christ, not that I slept with him. But you know what I mean.”

“Skyla, I’m in no mood for this. Who the feck is he?”

“For the love of all the saints, Connor, it was just Beckett Blackwell. Billie’sbrother.Stop being a shite and tell me why you’re calling me from Paris. Also, how pretty is it there right now? Are the trees blooming then?”

“Aye, they are,” he says. “You should come with me next time.”

“I have a business here,” I remind him. “Tell me what you’re about.”

“I want you to change the codes on the doors again, and I’m going to hire security detail for your house.”

“No.” I shake my head and sit on the side of my bed. Immediately, Riley rushes to me and lays his head in my lap. He can tell I’m agitated. “I don’t want strangers wandering around my property, Connor.”

“I don’t bloody care.”

“What’s brought this on?”

“The Arsehole is back in the States,a stór. And he’s been googling you.”

I lean forward, burying my face in Riley’s neck.

“But he’s in New York City,” I reply, my voice a little muffled.

“For now, yes.”

“And he can’t find where I am. This house is owned by the corporation. My business is owned by an LLC that doesn’t circle back to the family in any way.” I lift my face and sigh. “I’m safe here, Connor.”

“I still want you to change the code.”

“What good does that do?” I demand as I stand to pace my bedroom. “If he can figure out a six-digit alarm code, it shouldn’t matter how often I change it.”

“Let me hire the men,” he says, softening his voice because he knows I’ll react better if he’s not demanding. “At least until he leaves the country again.”

“He may never leave the country again,” I remind him.

“Yes, he will. I don’t like that he’s looking for you.”

I’m suddenly so tired of all of this bullshite. “I’mfine, Connor. I have Riley, a bloody secure house, and I’m in a small town. I don’t want strangers walking around my property, and that’s that. I know you’ll be keeping an eye on if he leaves New York and where he goes, so unless he’s bought an airline ticket out West, I’m keeping things the way they are. You can’t just lock me down all of the bloody time. I’m going to live my life.”

The tension crackles through the phone.

“I don’t like it,” he says.

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