Page 69 of Taken Off Camera
“Tried to.” I grimace. “He’s a multiple offender who’s been blocked from more than one channel for harassment. We figured out he worked at the mail sorting station where my fan gifts got rerouted, and Saint went to have a word with him, but he’s good at disappearing.”
“Better than you?”
A humorless laugh escapes me. “He turned out to be jumpier than most creeps. Usually, they think that the anonymity of being online means they can’t be found in real life. But he vanished as soon as I blocked all his socials and his credit cards, so he couldn’t sign up for new accounts.”
Sebastian studies me thoughtfully. “Then why the blindfold? If you already knew about my scars, why pretend?”
Heat crawls up my neck, warming my cheeks. “Because it wasn’t my place to take that from you.”
“What do you mean?”
I pick up the framed photo on his desk of me, smiling into the camera during a private session. Myheart squeezes, knowing he kept a piece of me close to him even when we weren’t interfacing online.
“When I looked into you, I never expected to meet you in real life. And when wedidmeet, you weren’t ready to show me your face.” My thumb traces the frame. “The blindfold was your boundary, and I respected it. I wanted you to reveal yourself when you felt safe enough to do it on your own.”
Sebastian goes still, his breathing shallow. “Even though you already knew?”
“BecauseI already knew.” I set the photo down. “It needed to be your choice. Not mine.”
Sebastian leans forward to rest his forehead on my chest. “You’re not what I expected.”
“Neither are you.” I rake my fingers through his hair, then tug none too gently, pulling his head back. “I expected you to still be there when my Heat ended. After you Marked me.”
Now that I’ve soothed his worries, it’s time for the confrontation we came in here for.
18
Sebastian’s shoulders curve inward with guilt. “I left a note.”
“That’s a weak excuse, and you know it.”
Sebastian flinches. “Micah?—”
“Do you have any idea how that made me feel?” My throat tightens with the hurt I’ve been trying to bury. “To wake up alone? To find nothing but a scrap of paper?”
“I thought I was doing the right thing after attacking you.”
“The right thing?” I push away from him, anger flaring hot again. “I spent days wondering if I’d imagined everything between us. Checking my phone every five minutes, hoping for a text, a call,anything.”
Sebastian rises from his chair, hands open at his sides. “I’m so sorry.”
“I sent texts. Begged you to tell me you were alive.” The confession burns on its way out. “I talked to the cameras, hoping you were still watching.”
His face twists with pain. “Micah, please?—”
I pull at the hem of my hoodie, twisting the fabric between my fingers. “You promised to protect me from Travis.”
“I had people watching your building,” Sebastian insists, taking a step toward me.
“But not you.” I back away, needing the distance. “I needed you, and you weren’t there.”
The words hang in the air between us, raw and naked. I curl my fingers into my sleeves, tugging them down over my hands for comfort.
“I thought…” Sebastian runs a hand over his scarred face. “I thought you’d be better off without me. After what I did during your Heat.”
“What did you do?” I challenge. “Mark me? I would have consented if you’d asked.”
Sebastian blanches. “You don’t remember?”
