Then I’ll break.
I’m just not sure if I’ll be able to glue the pieces of my heart back together.
“Go away,Caleb. I don’t need you to follow me up to my apartment.”
I push through the glass door, my bag slung over my shoulder. He tried to take it from me when I got out of the car, but I slapped his hands away and stormed away from him. And now the big lug is following me.
“Sorry, Miss Kingston. The boss wants me to ensure you’re delivered home safe and sound. I’ll do a sweep of your apartment and then be out of your hair.”
My heart does a little pitter-patter. Why does it feel like I’m losing a friend?
Probably because Caleb is the closest thing to a friend I’ve had in years. I’ve kept myself too busy trying to prove myself to my father to have a social life. Caleb may have been sitting twenty feet away in the shade while I was poolside drinking cocktails, but it sort of felt like I was hanging out with someone. And now I’ll never see him again either. All because of Cash.
Daddy.
No.
He’s not my Daddy. Or my man. Or anything to me.
It’s fine.
I’ll get over him and move on.
I think.
Who am I kidding? There’s no getting over Cash Savage. There isn’t a single man in this world who measures up to him. He’s not perfect. He has a ton of faults. But the way he makes me feel… No one will be able to do that again.
As soon as I approach the security desk to get to the elevators, Derek lifts his head, does a double-take, and then grins. “Looking beautiful as always, Miss Kingston,” he greets me. “Welcome back…”
He trails off, and his eyes go wide when Caleb walks up behind me, breathing so loudly I glance back at him to make sure he’s not having a heart attack. Luckily, he’s not because I wouldn’t be able to stop the big guy from hitting the ground if he were to pass out.
Instead, his nostrils flare as he scowls at Derek, who is withering by the second.
“If you ever make an inappropriate remark toward Miss Kingston again, I’ll cut your dick off and send it in a gift-wrapped box to your mother,” Caleb growls.
I gasp and turn around to smack him in the chest. He glances down at me when I do.
“What the hell, Caleb?” I snap.
He nudges me forward, glaring at Derek, who I’m pretty sure has peed himself by now. When we get to the bank of elevators, Caleb jabs the button and puts his hands on his hips.
What is it with these possessive men? And why the hell would Caleb act like that? I don’t even think he likes me.
As soon as the doors close, I look at him and scowl. “What the fuck, Caleb? What is your issue? Did your mom drop you on your head as a kid? Derek is harmless. He flirts with every woman who comes in, whether she’s young or old. Hell, I think my eighty-year-old neighbor is in love with him.”
Caleb grumbles. “You belong to Cash.”
Jerking my head back like he slapped me, I gasp. “What part of any of this makes you think I belong to Cash? He doesn’t own me.”
That’s a huge lie.
He owns every bit of me. Mind, body, soul, and worst of all, my heart. I don’t know how such a small organ can endure this level of searing pain.
Caleb doesn’t answer me. Instead, he pins me with a stern look that I struggle to return. He knows he’s right.Iknow he’s right. But I’m never going to admit it to him.
“Did they find my father?” I finally ask.
Is that why he’s letting me go? If my father did murder Jack Savage, he deserves whatever Cash is going to do to him. It’s terrible to say, but I’ve never claimed to be a good person.