Page 91 of Meant to Be
Her chest tightened, making it difficult for her to breathe. His reaction wasn’t all that different from the one at the airport ten years earlier. He seethed, he raged, but he didn’t listen. Wouldn’t listen. And because he wouldn’t now, she determined it wouldn’t matter what she said.
“You should go.”
His brows shot up in surprise. “You’re not going to deny it?”
“I did deny it, but you won’t listen, and you won’t believe me anyway, so why bother?” She shook her head. Her heart was splitting in her chest, but the pain was masked by anger. “I feel sorry for you, Mitch.”
“Me? That’s rich.”
“Yes. You have so much in your life and yet you choose to keep it out because of what happened in the Middle East.”
If Mitch could kill with a single dark glare, she’d be a pile of dust. She wanted to wither away at the rage in his eyes, but she straightened her back and kept her hard gaze on his.
“You dismiss what happened to me?”
“No. I think what happened to you was horrible. But you’ve let it define you. You’ve let it dictate your life. You have so much to be grateful for… family, friends, love…” She let the word hang. “I didn’t know your friend Brian, but if he was any sort of friend, he wouldn’t want you to hide. He’d want you to live and love.”
Mitch jabbed a finger at her. “You keep Brian out of this. You know nothing about it.”
“I know what it’s like to live in fear. To wonder why something violent happened to me. But while you choose to hide behind anger and guilt, I’ve done the opposite. You’re broken, Mitch. And you don’t give a damn enough to fix it.”
The minute the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Not for saying he should live his life, but for saying he was broken. The hurt etched on his face confirmed she’d gone too far. She was about to apologize when he reached for the letters.
She scooped them up, shaking her head. “These are mine.” They were the only thing she had left of their relationship.
“You don’t deserve them.”
His words tore at her. Her tears gathered, and she knew she couldn’t stop them from falling. But she’d hold it together long enough to get him out of her office.
“They’re mine.” She held them to her breast.
He’d have to pull them from her hands. He glanced at them as if he considered it, but then sneered in disgust. “I’ll send George to get you this evening. He’ll take you home or to a hotel.” He didn’t say it, but the revulsion in his tone said,I’m done with you.
Mitch sat in his truck; anger, hurt, betrayal all swirling in a dangerous combination. His heart felt physically crushed in his chest. How was it possible it could still beat?
He’d known the chances of getting hurt were high, and yet, somehow, he’d let his guard down. She’d wormed her way in, and he’d believed her — believed her when she said she hadn’t received his letters. Had she lied about his texts, voice mail messages, e-mails?
The night before he’d allowed himself to believe they could have a future. He let himself love her, not just physically, but with all his heart. He took a chance and within 24 hours she’d torn his heart in two again. He couldn’t quite bring himself to believe her goal had been to seduce and betray him again, but intention or not, that was what had happened. He slapped his hand on the steering wheel. “Idiot.”
He started the truck and drove to work, thinking about who he could pass Jenny and Sydney’s case to. From now on, he would avoid Sydney. Charlotte Tavern was a small town but not so small that he couldn’t stay away from her.
The first thing he needed to do was contact George. Mitch’s anger at Sydney was strong, but that didn’t mean he wanted her dead. He’d make sure she was protected, just not by him.
Jesus, what a fool he’d been.
“Hey, McKenna!” Detective Kripke came up to him. “We got that traffic footage from McAlister and Casper streets. Nothing there that looks like a getaway car.”
Mitch took a deep breath. “What about Doctor Andres’s rental or Jagger Talbot’s car?”
“Nope. That doesn’t mean they didn’t attack Taggard’s wife, but they didn’t leave the hospital and go through those intersections, unless it was later.”
Mitch nodded. “Thanks.”
“You okay? You look a little… pissed.”
“I’m okay.” Mitch waved off the detective. But then he turned to him. “Want to take over this case?”
The detective frowned.
