Page 51

Squinting, I search for any indication of the ladies’ room as I push into a door to my right, praying I picked the right one.

A brighter light slaps my skin the second the heavy door swings open.

This is not the restroom.

“I-I was looking for the restroom, sorry,” I stutter, embarrassed by my intrusion.

I turn on my heel, grabbing the brass handle until his voice stops me.

“No need to apologize, Sofia.”

In slow motion, my hair trails over my shoulder as I look back at him. With arms crossed over his broody chest, I’m eye-to-eye with Jett Parker. And another man twice his size, which seems impossible, considering Jett is an overly large creature.

“I was just leaving. Nice catching up with you, man.”

The athletic-looking guy glides across the office in two big strides, heading in my direction.

“Excuse me,” he says gently, glaring down at me through rough features.

“You’re excused.” My fire expands the longer I’m in the presence of the gas that lights it.

“She’s got some bark to her, JP.” He throws the snarky joke to his insufferable friend, as if I’m not standing right beside him.

I quirk an eyebrow. “She bites a little too.”

I don’t have to look at Jett to know he’s got that stupid smirk plastered on his face.

“You mind letting go of the door so a guy can get back to his friends?”

His stare hardens, and I realize my white-knuckled grip is holding the door for dear life.

Quickly, I jerk my hand away. The large handle looks dwarfed in his hand compared to mine. I shuffle behind him, cursing my shitty vision for not being able to see the correct sign on the door.

“Use the bathroom in here.”

Jett’s raspy echo makes me stop as the heavy door I came through slams closed in front of me. In a world full of grimy men, ones who make my skin prickle and vision blur, the one in front of me makes me feel one thing I hate him for providing.

Safe.

“I’d rather use the public restroom,” I sass, showing him my back while trying to regulate the front.

“No, you wouldn’t. Just use the damn bathroom.” His voice booms, and I jump just slightly.

“I don’t have to go anymore,” I whisper.

Being around Jett makes me jittery, and slightly unhinged. I hate the side he brings out in me. It makes me too hopeful that there’s good in the world. But right now, the game we play is overruled.

Feeling him stepping in my direction, the tension in my shoulders rises the closer he gets. It’s not until I feel his touch on my elbow that I gasp. It might as well be a scream with how quiet it suddenly is in here.

“Everything okay?” he asks more gently, and it’s like salve that calms the burning.

I shake my head, feeling my panic surfacing fast and strong without any way for me to stop it. Like protection is inevitable in this small room.

“Did something happen?” he presses, and I take a slow breath. The small circles his thumb brushes on my skin could put every broken part of me back together if I let him.

“N-No, I just, I got uncomfortable. I needed a second to calm down.”

He doesn’t speak for a moment. But I hear the weight of my statement in the heaviness of his breathing.