Collide (Collide, #1)(107)

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 f*ck 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 f*cked 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.

Dillon remained as still as stone. “I shouldn’t have to think about anything, bro. You had no f*cking right doing what you did.”

“I might not have, but what’s done is done,” he stated firmly, reducing the distance between them by half. “Perhaps I need to reiterate it for you. If you’d treated her the way a real man treats his woman, maybe things would be different for you right now.”

“I was drunk. I would’ve never touched her if I wasn’t,” he said, his eyes still glued to Gavin’s. “You f*cking sucker punched me. That wasn’t f*cking cool, man.”

Gavin rubbed at his chin absently. It was apparent to him that Emily hadn’t said anything yet. “Wow, that’s original. ‘I was drunk,’ so that makes it okay?” He didn’t let Dillon respond as he continued, “So let me get this straight…” He chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re here to talk shit to me because I knocked you out for manhandling Emily the way you did?”

“Yeah. Why the f*ck else would I be here?”

Gavin decided to skirt over that particular question with one of his own. “What the f*ck are you really here for?” he asked, his brows furrowed. “Because let me make myself very clear about the way I roll, Dillon. If I would’ve seen you do that to a dog—let alone Emily—I would’ve still done the same thing. When have you ever known me to sit back and watch a man do that to a woman? Tell me because I’m honestly f*cking curious now—and quite amused by the whole f*cking thing.”

Dillon’s granite expression softened almost imperceptibly. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you. I’m—”

“Oh, you don’t?” he interrupted. “It sure as f*ck seems like you do. If you can’t understand why I did what I did, then there’s no reason for us to continue with this conversation. And if you’re going to use that * excuse of you being drunk to dismiss what you did to her, then there’s definitely no reason for us to continue this conversation.” Gavin pointed across the room. “The door’s right there if you’re going to play that card with me.”

Dillon stared at him a moment, his eyes narrowing again. “Like I said, I don’t want to argue with you, Gavin. I’ll admit I messed up, and I told Emily I’m going to make things better.” Gavin cocked his head to the side, wondering exactly when they’d spoken since Emily had told him she wasn’t answering his calls. However, he remained quiet and let Dillon continue. “The problem I’m having here is that you seem to have a bigger f*cking problem with what happened than my own fiancée does.”