He grabbed the letter and flung it at her. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
Her face softened. “Sam…” She reached out to him. “It’s not what you think. If you’d just give me a minute to explain.”
Sam backed up, not able to handle her warm, gentle touch. “I can’t do this Cat, not again. Not ever again.” Feeling suffocated, he had to get out of there, to get air. He couldn’t stick around to listen to why she had to run away to bigger and better things. His stomach rolled. He bit back an ironic laugh.
Fuck! He glanced at his watch and took a deep breath.
He gave an angry shake of his head. Angry with himself for letting this relationship move beyond physical when he knew he didn’t have what it took to keep her around. He hastily pushed past Cat and made his way to the door.
“It’s late. I have to go get Rio.”
Her voice was low and urgent. “Sam, wait.”
Her words stopped him. He twisted back around, wanting to lash out again. “What? You need a lift to the airport?”
She winced at his harshness. “I wanted you to see the letter.” She sounded edgy, emotional.
Sam shook his head in disbelief. “This is the reason you invited me back here, instead of going to my place. You wanted me to see this?” Christ, did she have some kind of cruel streak he didn’t know about?
“I left the letter on the table for you to see. I wanted you to read it. I wanted you to ask me to stay.” She stepped closer to him. “Don’t you see? I needed to know I was more than a lab rat to you.”
His stomach churned. He touched her arm, his fingers idly stroking her flesh. “I’d never do that, Cat. I’d never ask you to stay.” With that he turned and walked out the door.
The look in his eyes before he left told her everything. She saw love, caring, and a little boy lost. Her heart swelled in her chest as tears pooled in her eyes.
Resisting the urge to go after him, she pulled in a breath and sorted through the events, taking a long time to reflect on Sam’s childhood and insecurities. Understanding dawned in small increments. Understanding of where all that anger had come from, and why he had a hard time trusting her, why he’d lashed out at her.
It occurred to her that Sam had expected her to leave, just like everyone else in his life that he’d cared for and lost. Sam was too afraid to ask her to stay.
He might have just walked out on her but his reaction proved one thing. She was more than a lab rat to him. Otherwise the job offer wouldn’t have mattered.
Cat glanced out her window to see Sam climb into his Jeep. Tears flowed down her cheeks as everything in her reached out to him. As hard as it was, she had to let him go.
Palms flat on the window, she watched him peel out of the parking lot, knowing he needed time to battle old ghosts, to find a way to heal, to find the courage to trust her.
And to find a way to come back on his own.
Chapter 11
Sam drove around for hours, with no specific destination in mind. As midnight came and went he found himself sitting outside Kale’s house. He killed the ignition and just sat there, feeling numb, trying to sort through the night’s events.
He glanced at the house. The lights were dimmed and it was late. Maybe he should just go home. He reached for the keys when the front door opened.
“Are you coming in or are you going to sit there all night?” Kale asked.
Feeling chilled, Sam climbed from the Jeep and scrubbed his hand over his jaw. “Did I wake you?”
“No, I was up with the baby, but now both my girls are asleep so keep it down.”
Sam followed Kale inside and plunked himself down on the sofa. The warmth of the house seeped into his skin. Blue rays fanned out from the television, providing the only source of light in the room.
“Beer?”
“Love one,” Sam said.
Kale came back with two beers and handed one to Sam. Sam took a long pull as Kale grabbed the remote, muted the television, and sank back into his chair.
Kale got right to the point. “What’s up, Sam?”
Sam shifted. “It’s that obvious, is it?”
“Oh yeah. You look like shit.”
How was that for blunt? “You think?”
Kale leaned forward. “Is it the reporter?”
“You could say that.”
Kale pushed himself back into his seat. “Shit, Sam. I told you not to play with fire. What happened?”
Sam shook his head as a strange groan crawled out of his throat. He kept his voice low. “To be honest, I’m not sure. First, there was a threatening note; then, a protestor was at my house trying to kidnap Rio. He said Hawk put him up to it to get a good story for a promotion. Then I saw an interview letter on Cat’s table.” He was rambling and probably made no sense, but he didn’t care.
“So let me get this straight. You think Cat and Hawk hired a protestor to kidnap Rio so she could get a promotion?”
Sam looked up from his beer. “Is that what I said?”
“Pretty much.”
“Cat wasn’t in on it, though.”
Kale scoffed. “Are you kidding me? She’s a reporter. Of course she was.”
Sam’s protective instincts kicked into high gear. “No, she wasn’t.” An equal measure of surprise and shock hit at the same time. It suddenly occurred to him that he was defending Cat and would continue to defend her with everything in him. “She’s not like that, Kale. You don’t know her the way I do. Don’t say stuff like that about her.”
He took a pause, considering everything over. Cat didn’t have a manipulative bone in her body and he damn well knew it. He’d struck out at her earlier because she was leaving.
