The corner of his mouth turned up a smirk. “Do I look like some kind of fucking moron to you, Olivia?” he blurted out, garnering a surprised look from her. “Because if I do, you’re sorely mistaken. If she’s in there trying to work shit out with him, the least she could do is fucking tell me instead of lying.”

“I just told you he’s not here. You’ve known me long enough to know that I’m not a conniving sneaky liar, Gavin.” Letting out a melodramatic sigh, she nonchalantly looked down to her nails. “It’s a shame I can’t say the same thing about certain people I know.”

Although confused by it, Gavin could tell there was more behind Olivia’s statement, but he wasn’t about to get into it with her—not then. However, he was definitely going to make sure he wasn’t being played. Walking right past her, he reached for the door and made his way in. With his heart thumping erratically, hitting the pit of his stomach, his eyes scanned the living room for Emily.

“I told you she’s in bed sleeping,” Olivia said insistently.

The word “bed” reverberated through Gavin’s head like a drumroll as a wave of nausea crept over him. Without thinking—and feeling quite like the certified paranoid psychopath he was convinced he was turning into—Gavin bolted down the hall toward Emily’s room.

“Holy shit! What the fuck are you doing, Blake?” Olivia let out, following right behind him. “She’s sleeping.”

Hoping to God Olivia wasn’t lying to him, he slowly opened her door, still trying to keep the woman he loved in his forethoughts. With only the faintest light spilling into the room from the kitchen—indeed showing Emily alone in her bed—Gavin was sure that the sigh of relief that seared from his lungs and passed through his lips had awoken her. He pulled in a heavy breath, leaned against the doorway, and plowed his hands through his hair.

“See? She’s sleeping, Gavin,” Olivia whispered. “Now come on. She doesn’t feel good.”

Gavin felt like a total asshole for not believing the woman he was supposed to trust. He couldn’t leave. He felt frozen to the ground as his ears soaked in the sound of her breathing—the breathing of the woman who’d repeatedly said she loved him less than twenty-four hours ago. By God, he adored and loved her, but even if only for a beat, he’d doubted what she’d told him. He didn’t intend to wake her, but he needed to touch her. He needed to feel some part of his angel’s body. Against the harsh whispers of Olivia’s pleas, Gavin found himself quietly moving across the room. He approached the bed where Emily lay asleep with her back turned toward him. He let a bittersweet smile form on his lips as his fingertips lightly brushed through her hair. He leaned over her, his body movements careful not to wake her, as he grazed the side of her jaw with his knuckles.

“I love you, Emily,” he whispered before he softly kissed the back of her head. “I wish I was here today to take care of you, doll.” That was all he needed—just that little bit—and he knew he’d be able to sleep through the night.

With her breathing increasing by his wanted and unwanted touch, Emily’s head screamed “you infuriate me; you disgust me; you’ve shattered me” while her heart cried out “please stay; I need you in my life; we’re supposed to be amazing together.” A hot tear trickled down her cheek as her fingernails dug into her clenched fists. But she didn’t move. Her body was still as she heard him leave the room. Olivia walked him out of the apartment—and out of her life. Releasing the breath she had been holding from the moment he’d walked into the apartment, Emily turned over onto her back. Through tear-flooded eyes, she took in the sight of Olivia’s silhouette, standing just outside her door.

Olivia went to walk in, but Emily spoke up. “I just need to be alone,” she cried out. “Okay? I’m…I’m so sorry I put you through that, Olivia. I’m so sor…sorry,” she stuttered through her cries. “Thank you so much. But I just can’t…I ca…can’t talk about it.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright, Em?” Olivia whispered, her voice thick with concern. “I’m supposed to meet Tina in a little while. I could stay home if you need me to.”

Sniffling, she shook her head. “No, you go. Go have a good time. I’ll be okay.”

Olivia stood there for a second, let out a heavy sigh, and then slowly closed the door.

In the pitch dark of her room, Emily curled the blankets tightly around her trembling body, her head trying to absorb the wicked day that’d been cast upon her.

Sleep.

She needed sleep like she needed oxygen, water, and food—yet, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t find any tonight. No. Sleep wouldn’t be her friend this evening.

Instead, loneliness, hurt, confusion, and pain would replace it.

Chapter Eighteen

Swallowed Whole

He called her and left a few messages.

Nothing.

He texted a couple times.

No reply.

Sitting at his desk in the office of Blake Industries, Gavin picked up his phone again for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning. Placing it back down, he leaned back in his chair and tented his fingers beneath his chin as he carefully assessed the disturbing feelings that were taking root inside his head. Something was wrong. Even if Emily was still sick, he knew he should’ve heard from her by now. However, the calmer side of his brain told him to relax. There could be several reasons explaining why she hadn’t gotten back to him yet. Considering she had missed a day of work, it was quite possible she was busy trying to catch up on other obligations.

Yes. That’s what he would go with for now.

Nevertheless, as the morning dragged on, blurring into the late afternoon hours, Gavin was sure he was just trying to convince himself that something wasn’t right. Though his physical body was forced into several business meetings, his mind was in no way present during any of them. His thoughts became consumed and sickening scenarios clenched around his heart with every passing minute that he didn’t hear back from her.

After completing a conference call with a potential client, he rose from his seat and moved across his office, wondering what the fuck was going on. Peering down at the chaotic city streets as rush hour crept over Manhattan, he decided to shoot Emily another call. Before he could, his secretary’s voice traveled through the intercom, cutting clear through his troubled thoughts.

“Mr. Blake, you have a Dillon Parker here to see you.”

Turning around, Gavin stared at his office door. Although a steady stream of adrenaline rocked through his system, his demeanor showed nothing but calmness. Before he answered her, he slowly walked over to his desk, and with unhurried movements, he peeled his suit jacket from his body, laying it across his chair. In the same breath, he loosened his tie and casually rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. Every male instinct in his mind screamed that his friend knew he and Emily were together, and Gavin had a feeling that his unannounced visit was about to become very…interesting. Gavin was more than aware that a jail cell might very well be his sleeping quarters this evening. Drawing in a slow breath, he stretched his neck, squared his shoulders, and hit the button to the intercom.

“Go ahead and send him in, Natalie. Thank you.”

With his jaw clenched, Gavin watched as Dillon entered his office, both men locking eyes on one another the second the door closed.

After a few moments of thickening tension, Dillon finally broke the silence, his tone low but his expression hard. “What you did is fucked up.”

Crossing his arms, Gavin leaned against his desk as he stared Dillon down from across the room. “Maybe if you treated Emily the way she’s supposed to be treated, I wouldn’t have done it. Ever think of that?” he asked, his voice measured, but his thoughts weren’t even close. Between thinking about the way he’d grabbed Emily and the fact that she had gone against his plea by saying something to Dillon without him being there, Gavin was ready to draw blood.