Not knowing she would be curled up in her lilac sheets with her dark locks splayed over her fucking pillow.
No, there would be no sleep for me tonight or tomorrow night. Hell, I wasn’t going to get a decent night’s sleep until I had her brother pinned to the wall, my hand around his neck, watching him squirm and beg for his life while Gordon bled out on the ground behind me, his blood soaking my boots.
“Hayes?”
My head snapped up. She was leaning against the wall, arms wrapped around herself, eyes on my bare chest. “Margo,” I called. Her eyes flicked up to mine, shining with tears. “What is it?” I demanded, my back straightening.
Her voice was soft, but heavy with regret. “I’m sorry.”
I jerked.
When I didn’t answer—I didn’t trust myself to, she croaked, “I was a bitch and I didn’t mean to be. I just…you’re so perfect and I never expected any of this to happen. I knew Marcus didn’t like me, but I never thought he would go this low.” A single tear hit her cheek, trailing down the curve of it before falling off her jaw.
You’re so perfect.
Three words.
Fucking hell, this woman had no idea of the power she had over me.
She also had no idea how wrong she was.
“What your brother did has nothing to do with you,” I told her, needing her to get that above anything else. She didn’t need to waste another second of her life analyzing why he was a piece of shit. That was the path he’d chosen to take.
“I’m his older sister,” she rasped.
“His burdens don’t belong on your shoulders,” I returned, staying where I was. “You don’t get to put your name on his mistakes. That’s not your job.”
She sucked her plump bottom lip between her teeth, shifting her weight to her left foot. “Then what is my job?” she pushed out, her voice cracking. “I was supposed to protect him. I failed him.”
“He failed himself. You don’t get to carry this guilt. I won’t let you.” Her eyes met mine. “If I have to rip it out of your hands, I will,” I warned. “Your life is yours to live and his life is his. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“You don’t understand—”
“I have a younger sister. I understand more than you know.” Her beautiful lips opened, ready to argue, but I couldn’t let this go on. “It’s late,” I reminded her. “Thank you for the apology, but it wasn’t needed.”
“I was a bitch.”
“No, you were hurt. There’s nothing to apologize for,” I told her softly before jerking my chin to her bedroom. “Good night, Temper.”
Chapter Fifteen
Margo
“Idon’t think I can do this,” I whispered to myself after Hayes got out of the SUV. I didn’t have the stomach to look up at the skyscraper as he pulled into the parking garage below. I couldn’t look anywhere but at him as he rounded the front of thetruck. He was in the same clothes he wore yesterday, but still just as devastating. The longer strands of his blond hair at the top of his head were still damp from his shower and there was a light dusting of hair on his jawline that made my body shiver with desire.
Last night, as expected, I didn’t get much sleep. Then again, how could I when Hayes was less than thirty feet away, sleeping on my couch? I spent the first half of the night tossing and turning. Then around three, I was too angry to just lie there. I threw my covers off, grabbed my laptop, and emailed Professor Ashley, looping her into the shitshow that was my life. Around five in the morning, when I was deep into reading over the project file to see what I’d miss next semester, she replied. Hayes said he was going to fix everything and get my money back, but it was hard for me to believe him. Gordon was an asshole. A dangerous asshole with a spending problem.
If he was still the same asshole from years ago, then my money was gone already.
Professor Ashley expressed her concern, and by the time I reached the end of the email, tears were brimming and my chest was tight. She was going to reach out to some colleagues and see if there were any scholarships with open applications that I could apply for. After I finished crying over that brilliant woman, I pulled out my journal and brain dumped everything, letting all the pain, frustration, and fear seep onto the pages until the muscles in my hand ached. Even then, I didn’t stop and by the time I was done, six pages had been filled with my hurried scribbles and my hand throbbed.
The passenger side door opened, bringing me back into the present. Hayes held the door open wide, waiting for me to get out, but I didn’t move. Icouldn’tmove.
“Margo?”
“I think I probably should’ve said yes to your offer this morning,” I mumbled, giving him a pathetic smile.
His brow furrowed. “What offer?”