Page 32 of Erik's Redemption
Her heart raced so hard, she pressed a hand to her chest to keep it from beating out.
As she stepped into the foyer of the office, Owen rose from the couch.
Her breath caught, but this time for a different reason. “Owen! Oh my God, our meeting…that’s this morning.”
She’d been so distracted by everything else going on in her life, she’d completely forgotten. She shot a glance at her watch. Ten past nine…the meeting was scheduled for nine. She was late. She wasneverlate.
He gave her an easy smile. “It’s okay. You’re here now.”
“Still, I’m so sorry. Please, come to my office.” She led him down the hall and into her office, indicating the chairs on the other side of the desk. “Have a seat. I’ll just get organized.”
She tapped on her watch, cursing at the slight glucose high. Not a surprise—stress always made her go high.
Thank God she’d already prepared a folder of information for Owen a few days ago. She pulled the folder from her cabinet but didn’t immediately hand it to him. Instead, she forced her lips into a smile. “So, I know you want space for your bikes. What else are you looking for?”
He leaned back in his seat. “I don’t need a lot of space inside the house because it’s just me. As long as there’s somewhere for me to sleep and cook. Although, if the right house happened to be big, I wouldn’t rule it out. I’d find shit to put in the rooms.” He grinned. “Optimally, I’d love a large garage to lock up my bikes.But that’s not absolutely necessary if there’s space to have one built.”
She nodded. “Great.” She opened the folder and pulled out a couple properties that wouldn’t work. The tremble in her fingers was obvious. She needed to calm down. But how could she? Someone knew what she’d done all those years ago. Not only that, they knew where she worked, had her phone number, and they werethreateningher.
When a hand touched her forearm, her gaze shot up to see Owen leaning forward, concern on his face.
“Hey,” he said quietly. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.”
She nodded, but the move felt jerky and wrong. “Yes. Sorry. I…my day’s just gotten off to a rocky start.”
How she was even functioning right now, she had no idea. Fear ran through her blood, so quickly and fiercely she could barely breathe.
“I understand bad mornings.” Slowly, he pulled his hand away. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No. But thank you. And again, I’m sorry for being a bit of a mess.”
“You don’t need to apologize. Henry’s told me you’re the best.”
She almost laughed. “Henrywouldsay that. He’s a good friend.” She passed him the folder of printed properties. “These are all currently on the market, and they either have secure garages for your bikes or acreage to put in a garage. Some of the houses are maybe a bit larger than you want.”
Owen nodded, still looking concerned as he slipped the folder from her fingers.
She had no idea how she got through the rest of their meeting. Somehow she said the right things, arranged a time to show him some properties, and gave him all the information heneeded for potential financing options. When he finally left, she pulled her phone out and read the text again.
The ice that slipped over her skin was instant, the fear blackening the world around her.
Her immediate instinct was to pick up the phone and tell Erik, but she hesitated. She had an entire workday to get through.
Tonight. She’d tell him tonight.
A part of her knew he’d understand. Of course he would. She’d acted out of self-defense. But she’d never told another soul about that day, or how much it had changed her. Telling him would be like exposing the most vulnerable part of herself.
When her phone beeped, she flinched and almost didn’t want to look down in case it was the unknown number again. She forced herself to click on the screen.
Not an unknown number.
Erik: Hey, sorry, I need to go on a last-minute work trip tonight. I’ll be back in a few days.
Another step back for them…
The weight on her chest was suddenly too much.
Without thinking, Hannah lifted her purse and left the office. Brigid’s lingerie shop wasn’t far. She wasn’t sure what words might slip out of her mouth when she got there. Would she tell her what she’d done so long ago? Would she tell her about the text? She didn’t know, but she needed her best friend.
