Ultimate Courage (True Heroes #2)(71)

Rojas went cold. “Pills?”

No. Absolutely not. If there was one hard line he had, it was abuse of those damned medications.

“Oh? Don’t worry, they’re all prescribed medications.” Julie fluffed her hair. “Taking a couple a day is no big deal. I took a diazepam before I hopped on the flight over here. Couldn’t fly without it. But, really, it got to a point where every time we saw Elisa, her eyes were vacant and glazed. She was always bumping into something.”

“I was depressed, not drugged. And I don’t bump into things more often than anyone else does. When I’ve gotten distracted, I’ve bumped into the front desk back at work even. You know this.” Elisa tried to turn her hand to catch his, but he withdrew it. “Joseph got the medications for me, but I wouldn’t take them.”

He didn’t want to hear it. The words “prescribed” and “medication” echoed inside his head, and all he could think of was his late wife’s slurred voice yelling at him over the phone, telling him it was his fault she needed her pills. After all, he was never home, always out of communication when on missions. They’d never known exactly when he was leaving or when he’d be coming back.

“Please.” Julie’s tone turned sarcastic. “You expect us to believe the way you changed, the way you were walking around like nothing around you was touching you, was because you were depressed? I don’t think so. Your mother was already talking to Joseph about maybe limiting those prescriptions. He said you insisted you needed them to cope.”

Rojas stared at Elisa, hard. He’d told her about his late wife. She knew how he felt about those damned pills. “You should have told me.”

Elisa’s eyes widened, hurt flashing, but he clamped down on the part of him that cared whether he hurt her or not.

She set her jaw. “There’s nothing to tell. This is completely out of context.”

Of course there wasn’t anything to tell. He didn’t want to listen to any lies. “No one with a drug problem thinks there’s actually a problem.”

His wife hadn’t, right up until her problem killed her.

Elisa’s breath left her in a whoosh, like he’d punched her in a gut. “You don’t believe me.”

“I think the way a person reacts when they’re caught by surprise says a lot.” He snapped.

He stood up abruptly, and Souze scrambled to his feet to join him. The woman, Julie, stood her ground just long enough to brush against him accidentally before taking a few steps back. “Oh, are you leaving?”

He glared at the woman. “I think the two of you have some catching up to do.”

She smiled, fluttering long fake eyelashes at him. “We do. But after she’s checked back in with her mother and her fiancé, maybe Elisa could introduce us properly and we could get to know each other.”

Disgust filled him. Scavenger. “Pass.”

Elisa came to her feet. “Alex. Please don’t leave.”

He took a couple of steps away. Hell, he couldn’t even look at her. “I need to clear my head. Text me when you’re ready to head back.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I have a rental car. I plan to take her to wherever she’s staying and help her pack up.” Julie brushed a hand down his back, and he stiffened. Souze growled. Her touch disappeared. “Elisa should really go back to where she belongs.”

Red haze crept across his vision. Suddenly, the café was too crowded. Conversations, whispers going on around him left him vulnerable, exposed. There was no room to get clear and no place to take cover. He’d just get enough distance to cool down and she still had her phone. Rojas left before he exploded.

*



Elisa watched Alex leave, incredulous. He didn’t believe her.

Julie, who was supposed to be her friend, let out a disgusted sigh and sat in Alex’s seat. “He’s got a crappy attitude. Where did you even find him?”

Elisa closed her eyes. “Why are you here, Julie?”

It didn’t make sense. Julie had been a friend since her last year in college. Elisa had shared everything with her about getting her first job, dating, even meeting Joseph. Julie had been excited for her through it all, supportive. But when Elisa began to see the reality of belonging to Joseph, Julie had been more inclined to make the same arguments as Elisa’s mother so the two of them had grown distant.

Once Elisa had left, she sent Julie one e-mail to let her friend know she was okay, but she hadn’t been in contact since. Her being here made no sense. Her being in communication with Joseph was crazy.

“I told you, your mother and your fiancé are worried about you.” Julie’s voice dripped with sweetness.

It probably wasn’t worth noting that Julie hadn’t claimed to be concerned about Elisa’s well-being. Wouldn’t want to be struck down by lightning or anything.

“My mother, I’d believe. Joseph wouldn’t be worried about me so much as concerned about what people would think when they found out I left him.” Elisa pulled out her purse. Hopefully she had enough cash to cover dinner so she could go after Alex. They needed to clear the air, at least, even if he was done with her. And he shouldn’t go walking through New Hope angry the way he was. She’d promised to help him tonight and she would, even if he was beyond angry with her.