Billion Dollar Bad Boy (Big City Billionaires)(49)

Something akin to pain flooded his vision. His fingers hovered in the air, willing me to come back. “I won't walk away from you. I'm not going to vanish, not after everything. Let me talk to you.”

“You're wasting your time. I don't want to hear another word.”

“If you'd—”

“I said leave me alone!”

His eyebrows ran low, then he glanced over my shoulder. I started to turn, hearing Detective Roose before I saw him. “Miss Willow,” he said, walking up to stand beside me. His voice was light, not matching how fiercely he stared at Silver. “What's going on here?”

Sweat spread over the back of my neck. Glancing between the men, I understood the root of my fear. Here, right in front of Roose, was the man he'd been searching for. I'd done what he'd hoped; I'd led him right f*cking to him.

It would have taken no effort to say, “That's the guy who hacked Old Stone.” The surface of my tongue was too parched to make a sound. I wasn't scared for me, though... I was scared for Silver.

I don't want him to go to jail.

He was the robber! He'd held me hostage! He'd ruined everything for me. Why were my guts rolling with unease at being the one to expose him to the public?

Because you still care about him. Even if you don't want to.

This would be my last act of kindness. I'd use it to make sure Silver left me alone forever. “Nothing is wrong, Detective.” I emphasized that last word.

Silver snapped his eyes to me, then back to Roose.

I said, “This guy thought I was someone he knew. But we cleared it up.”

“That so?” The detective rocked on his heels, flipping his coat back so that we could all see the shape of the gun holster at his hip. He was reading our interaction so easily, he could tell there was animosity brewing here.

Silver hadn't twitched. Not even his eyelashes moved. The heavy silence was broken only by the occasional rumble in the sky. The clouds were warning that the drizzle was going to get much worse.

I hoped that my warning to Silver was just as obvious.

Leave me alone, get out of here before Roose senses who you are. On some level I knew that was impossible, but my nerves said otherwise. I still didn't know why the hell I cared what happened to Silver, I just... did.

The sooner he left, the sooner I could stop thinking about him.

Lifting his chin, he focused his amber eyes on me. “Yes,” he said softly. “Everything is clear now.”

Barbed wire circled my heart, shredding it.

With a slow smirk aimed at Roose, he showed us both the back of his jacket. Quickly, he flicked up his collar. It only hid his neck, but that action felt like he was cutting himself off from me.

Stop letting him get to you. It was a firm, logical plea. This was what I'd wanted, I needed Silver to get out of my life. He was a bastard, a mad man, a f*cking dream-killer.

But as I watched him fade slowly into the wet, foggy distance, the thorns in my chest dug deeper. I might have pushed off my heels and chased after him, except Detective Roose moved first.

“Did you get my messages?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said, watching as the man I'd wrapped myself up in became a black speck.

“And did they shake anything loose for you? Did you remember anything?”

Silver turned the corner, gone.

“Alexis?”

Looking up at Roose, I slid damp hair from my face. “No, sorry. I didn't remember anything.”

The wrinkles in his face grew, making him look so much older. “Damn. That was my last shot.” He squinted closer at me. “Don't feel too badly, okay?”

I must have been looking grim. Shaking myself, I fought to put on a new smile. “I wish I could have helped you more.”

“You did help me.” Confused, I gave him my full attention. “The answer isn't always as obvious as we'd like. So you don't recall the robbery, fine. That just means I have to work harder. And maybe that's what was always needed to crack this case. Nothing wrong with a little hard work, right?”

“Right,” I whispered.

“It wasn't a waste of time,” he said firmly. He stood over me, the thick clouds behind his head starting to lighten up. “I'm glad I got to meet you, Alexis. You made me think about everything a little differently.”

“I did?”

“Yeah.” Flashing his teeth, he winked. “And honestly, I think being forced to dig into your past must have helped you, too. When I met you a few weeks ago, you were... I don't want to sound like a dick, but you were kind of fragile. I don't get that same vibe anymore.”

Rain tickled my eyelashes, I didn't wipe it away. What is he talking about?

“Anyway,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the sky. “Thanks for trying. It means a lot. And... would you look at that beautiful sight?” He walked away from me for a few steps. “Rain is stopping, sun is shining, and I have an assload of paperwork to get on. See ya, Alexis.”

Lifting my arm, I spoke with determination. “Bye, Vermont.”

He stopped short, his mouth opening in surprise. I knew calling him by his first name would make him happy. He deserved that.

With a final wave, he strolled down the sidewalk.

The sky was cutting through the clouds, ignoring the blacker bits that still lingered in the distance. Long after the detective was out of sight, I stood on those wet steps and thought about what he'd said.