Page 48 of Razor
“Oh, I’m so much better. Razor is such a great doctor. He worked his magic on me.”
“How about if we call him?”
“Oh, no. He’s busy at the clinic. You don’t want to disturb him. He won’t be happy.”
“You’re sure he’s aware you’re leaving?” Menace asked.
“Of course. I wouldn’t sneak out. That would be a bad idea.”
He studied her closely and agreed, “Exactly.”
“Nice to meet you, Menace. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.” Smiling, Honey held her breath as he debated. What would she do if he refused to raise the gate? Could she ram it? She struggled to control her growing panic. I have to get out of here!
Finally, he stepped back inside and hit the button to lift the gate. “Be careful, Honey.”
“Of course. Thanks, Menace.”
Without looking back, Honey drove under the lifted gate and onto the wooded road. As soon as the guard disappeared from her view, Honey’s breath gushed from her lungs. She pressed a hand to her chest to reassure her thudding heart. Everything’s okay. The panic ebbed, but sadness flooded her mind in its place. She’d never be the same without Razor.
Her ankle ached a bit more with every minute she pressed on the gas pedal. She pushed the discomfort from her mind as she headed to her duplex. Razor had visited her place, but he didn’t have a key. He couldn’t get in unless she opened the door.
Heaving another sigh of relief when she passed Inferno and reached the main road, Honey relaxed against the seat back. She’d made it out of Razor’s return path. Honey rehearsed what she would say when he called.
Sorry, it’s just not working out. No, crap. He’d know she was lying.
Thank you for taking care of me, Razor. I appreciate your help. Better? Straight to the point and avoiding their personal connection. No, that sounded too cold. He would never let their relationship evaporate with that.
I don’t want to be a burden, Razor. No, he’d argue that she wasn’t. And she already knew she was.
I can’t handle your job, Razor. No, he’d ask why, and she wouldn’t be able to explain anything to him.
Her mind churned over a dozen more possible things to say to him and eliminated them all. “Stop making excuses!” she announced. Her words echoed in the quiet of the car’s interior. How fucked up was her life that her illness had scared away one boyfriend and caused her to say goodbye to another who just wanted to take care of her. Razor deserved more—an ideal future with a healthy Little girl.
Tears coursing down her cheeks, Honey hobbled her way into the house and locked the door behind her. He’d follow her because that was what heroes did. And her heart would break again when she had to send him away. Feeling more alone than she ever had, Honey collapsed on her couch with her pillowcase full of the few pieces of clothing she’d hauled with her and Beatrice. She tugged the stuffie out and hugged it close. Thank goodness she had her bee.
The guard shack had changed attendants, and Vex had taken it over for light duty. Razor had stopped to check on him before heading home. He spotted the open garage from several cabins ahead and sped up. A sick dread kindled in his stomach. Something was wrong.
Pulling into the driveway, he saw the garage door opener lying on the ground. He lowered his kickstand and jumped off his bike to scoop it up as he stared at the empty spot her car had occupied. Squashing the flash of anger at himself for not arriving faster, Razor forced himself to focus.
Honey was gone. The device in his hand told Razor she didn’t plan to return. He clung to the hope there was another reason for finding it. Maybe he had the reason for her departure wrong. Maybe she had wanted some fast-food tacos or something and the opener had fallen by accident.
Razor stormed inside and spotted the scooter resting on its side. In the deserted family room, her blanket lay crumpled on the couch, discarded and abandoned. He refused to notice his heart felt like the crumpled material. This isn’t over.
He jogged down the hall to the bedroom. One pillow was on the edge of the bed without its white case. Drawers gaped open. He quickly realized her panties, bras, and socks were missing. Running into the closet, he scanned the racks. A few of his shirts dangled from one shoulder as if she’d ripped them partially off the hangers. Above them, her suitcases mocked him.
Staggering back into the bedroom, Razor sat on the bed and dropped his head into his hands. She’d tried to get a suitcase and almost fell. Abandoning her heavy clothing, she’d taken only what she could fit into a pillowcase. Honey had fled.
Because of Caroline? How could she imagine he was interested in Wraith’s Little girl? He shook his head. He had a fucking doctorate in psychology! How hard was it to anticipate she would be threatened by his contact with other women? How had he screwed this up so badly?
His phone in his pocket buzzed with an incoming message. Razor snatched it out, hoping to hear from Honey. Lucien’s name appeared with a red ALERT as the subject line.
Ignoring the protocol that Lucien had drilled into him when he’d joined the Devil Daddies, Razor didn’t care what triggered the warning. Nothing mattered but finding his Little girl. He pulled up Honey’s number and called her phone. It rang and rang. She didn’t answer. Razor disconnected without leaving a message and heard the faint echo of a buzz. He stood and returned to the family room. He tried again and flung the blanket to the side, discovering her phone on the leather surface. She had forgotten it.
“Fuck!”
Tucking both devices into his pockets, Razor ran for his loaner bike. He took off for her apartment, racing around the gate arm so he didn’t have to explain to Vex.
“Hey!” echoed from behind him. “Wait, Razor!”
