Page 71 of Being Bold
Despite their assertions, neither moved. Her limbs felt heavy, weighed down with sadness. It must’ve shown on her face because Bo’s eyes lost their hard edge. He lifted a hand toward her and traced the mole by her right eyebrow. “Don’t be sad, ocean-eyes. You’ll have your life back.”
She wasn’t sure that’s what she wanted if it meant he wouldn’t be in it. But she’d told him she wouldn’t ask for forever.
Stupid, Selene!
Because that was what she wanted. Forever with him. The tears she’d been fighting sprang free and spilled down her cheeks.
Alarm widened his eyes, and he swiped at the droplets with his thumbs. “Don’t cry, beautiful. It’ll all be over soon,” he crooned in his gruff voice.
His statement made her feel worse. A noisy sob shook her chest and scratched up her throat. Bo rubbed her back, pullingher closer while murmuring soft words she was too full of anguish to comprehend.
“Don’t leave me!” The words rushed from her throat on a keening gasp. She hadn’t meant to say them, but they were out now, polluting the air with her desperation and fear. Not of Mr. Dao, but of Bo walking away from her for good.
He went stiff next to her, then she heard him draw in a ragged breath before he rolled away. She sat up when he stood from the bed. He croaked with his back to her, “I can’t, Selene. I’m sorry.”
The heart she hadn’t meant to give him cracked down the middle like a tree struck by a powerful bolt of lightning. Scorched and broken, she whispered, “Yes, you can, but you won’t.”
His shoulders slumped, but all he said was, “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, we need to get TOP together.”
“Fine,” she answered, though he didn’t wait for her response. He disappeared into the bathroom, so she pulled herself from the bed. The tears had dried up. They were pointless anyway. Bo had made up his mind, and what she felt didn’t matter. She got dressed in a fog of misery.
When he exited the bathroom, she sat on the bed, staring out the window. She didn’t even turn as he said, “Meet me at Victor’s room in ten.”
“Okay.”
Footsteps moved in her direction, then stopped. She waited, but they retreated. The sound of the room door closing behind Bo widened the crack in her heart a little more. With a sigh, she pushed to her feet and headed for the bathroom.
After making herself ready, she grabbed the phone from Mr. Dao and her TOP burner. Remembering her need to hear from Yumi, she checked for messages. There were none. Worrying her lip, she dialed her friend’s number. It rang and rang untilthe voicemail recording came on. Instead of leaving a message, Selene hung up and texted Yumi.
Selene:Are you okay? Did you find what we were looking for?
She didn’t get a response right away and realized that, as early as it was in Montana, her friend was probably still asleep. Hopefully, the agent would get back to her before the meeting with Mr. Dao.
A chill washed over Selene, stopping her stride from the room. She didn’t know if it was worry over Yumi or herself. Trying to shake off the unease, she exited, tightly closing the door behind her.
No turning back now.
She drew in a deep breath and headed for Victor’s room.
???
Bo
Victor answered the door after one knock. The man didn’t look the least bit groggy.Had he even slept?
“Frogman,” he greeted Bo with a head lift, stepping aside to let him in.
As team leader, Victor had a suite. The door opened onto a living room with a deep blue velvet “L”-shaped couch. Behind it sat the king-size bed that had been meticulously remade—or never slept in. A four-person round dining table took up the corner of the room immediately behind the couch, with a chandelier resembling an exploding star hanging above it. A gilded mirror, the height of the wall, hung opposite the window along the right side of the room. It reflected the first rays ofmorning sunshine that pierced the panes, keeping the room from being too dark.
Bo walked into the sitting area and sat on the corner of the couch when Victor waved for him to take a seat.
“We have contact?”
Bo scrubbed his hands over his face, regretting not getting coffee before heading up here. “Yeah. Noon.”
Victor crossed his arms and leaned against the wall opposite Bo’s seat. “Where?”
Bo huffed out air in a derisive laugh. He didn’t fucking know where Dao wanted to meet because he’d run out of the room like a coward. He hadn’t thought of the details, only the need to escape, so he wouldn’t have to see the hurt and disappointment on Selene’s face. “Selene can tell us when she gets here.”
