Absolution by Diane Alberts Page A

shoulder, but
averted her gaze before he saw too much. “Um, yeah. I mean, I have
to—”
    She gave up trying to make a coherent
sentence, dropping her head back to her upraised knees. All the
words she could say to end that sentence ran through her head. Get
out. Leave. Stay.
    Too much. Too fast .
    Would her dad really have kept them apart?
Could he have gone so far as to threaten Joseph’s job? Maybe
even…his life? No way. She couldn’t believe it, couldn’t trust
Joseph.
    “What’s wrong?” He stopped massaging and
tightened his grip on her shoulders. “Why won’t you look at
me?”
    She straightened, took a deep breath, and
faced him, purposely making eye contact. “This was great. Really. A
great way to end everything. You know? Now we can look back fondly,
instead of with pain.”
    “Look back? End things?” He stared, not
moving. If not for the grinding of his teeth, she’d have thought he
turned into a statue. His face turned red, and she cringed. “That’s
all this is to you? A goodbye fuck? I tell you I love you, and you
send me on my way?”
    Her eyes filled with tears. She hugged her
chest, feeling exposed and inappropriately naked. “Yes, of course.
We were both horny. We used each other to fix it. What else would
it have been?”
    She ignored the tugging of her heart. Ignored
its screams about what an idiot she was. She’d listened before.
What had it gotten her? Nowhere good.
    “Oh, yeah. Of course. How foolish of me to
have thought you might feel something else.” He shoved off the bed,
stomped to the trashcan, chucked the condom in it, and tugged on
his jeans before storming into the bathroom. When he came out a
minute later, he looked even angrier than before. “You’re worse
than I’ll ever be. You thought I hurt you, but at least I
didn’t seek to rip you apart. You refuse to listen to reason, won’t
acknowledge the truth, and do it all without the tiniest bit of
remorse. Do you even have a heart inside that cold chest of
yours?”
    Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she
swallowed past the lump in her throat. He didn’t get it. Didn’t
understand she couldn’t risk loving him again—couldn’t allow him in
her life, only to break her heart once more. “I didn’t—”
    “I never should have taken this assignment.
Never should have allowed your dad to talk me into it. Now, I’m
stuck in this room with you, and I can’t do anything about it.” The
last word ended on a shout.
    When he threw the bin containing his
belongings across the room, she flinched. He glared at all the
clothes he’d spilled out on the floor. She followed his gaze,
gulping in a deep breath as she laid eyes on all of the things
she’d deemed worthy enough to save. Scattered memories on the
floor—taunting her feelings without remorse.
    “Joseph, I don’t want to fight. I’m sorry if
you’re—”
    “Oh, stop it. You got what you wanted,” he
sneered. He crammed his shoes on and yanked his shirt over his
head. “You stay here. I’m going to get a phone. Quite frankly, I
don’t want to be near you right now.”
    She shot to her feet. “I thought I needed to
stay with you.”
    He checked his weapon, pivoting to her. His
gaze traveled down every inch of her naked body. He paled and swung
away from her, his shoulders hunched. “Not right now. You’re in
more danger from me than any damn Cartel.” He opened the door and
stepped out into the hallway. Without facing her, he turned his
head to snarl, “And put your damn clothes on.”
    The door banged closed behind him, and Eva
collapsed to the bed. Oh God, what had she done? She hadn’t wanted
to hurt him. She didn’t want to love him, either.
    The idea of opening her heart to him, after
she’d discovered just how horrible it could feel when he broke it,
seemed too much for her. What if she allowed herself to care and he
decided she was more trouble than she was worth, or grew sick of
her temper and stubbornness? What if he left her for good