“That, sir, I’d beg to differ.” She cringed. “Now get off me!”
He pressed his mouth to hers, forcing his too wide tongue between her lips.
In the next instant, he let out a deep howl and jerked back, wide-eyed. He grabbed his mouth in shock. “Why did you bite me?” he shrieked. “I’m bleeding!”
“Why did you kiss me?” She gave him a hard push and he fell back, his drunken state helping in her favor. Jumping up, she readied herself to plant her foot in his jaw if he tried anything more with her. “You have crossed a line.”
He stood, shaking, and took a step toward her but she held up a hand in warning. “Don’t you dare! I’ll scream the roof off this place.”
“Novah, let’s talk about this. I-I misread—”
“No, thank you.”
Darting a gaze to the door, she knew she’d run into security if she left in that direction. So, she swiveled on her heels and hurried to the set of French doors and practically ripped them open.
~~~~~
Egan strolled across the lawn, his nostrils still full of Novah’s scent, as he joined Mike Gammon on the patio as the sun was starting to set.
“Everything good, man?” Mike asked.
“Everything’s fine,” Egan answered. He knew truly little about the youngest man on Langley’s security team, except that he was quiet and nearly as brawny as Banner. Gammon had short, blond hair, pockmarked skin and always wore a friendly smile.
“Could you imagine, man?”
“Imagine what?” Egan scanned the perimeter. He could see himself enjoying himself more if his ex-wife weren’t driving him mad. Her taste still lingered on his tongue and he wanted more.
“Rich enough to afford all this.”
Egan gave a quick shrug. “Money doesn’t buy you happiness, my friend.”
“Tell my wife that.” Mike snorted. “Not only is our family growing by one, but she told me today that we need a bigger house. She’s five months pregnant, man. A boy. Our first out of three girls. Damn. Dawn is happy. Is it wrong if my balls are shriveled?”
“Congratulations, buddy.” Egan felt a streak of envy. If he and Novah were still married, he guessed they would have had a second child, maybe a third or fourth. He’d wanted a large family. “You’re a lucky man. I get the fear though. How are you going to keep three girls safe from boys? I have a girl and I’m already sweating. I swear I age a year each time I think of her as growing into a teen.”
“Yeah, same here. Can’t you tell?” He patted his paunchy stomach and winked. “Dawn calls this normal, you know, when a man gains weight while his wife’s pregnant. I’ve added twenty pounds since we married.” Although he might have put on weight, the man appeared solid and strong.
“Again, I’m happy for you with the new baby. It’ll all make sense once you hold him in your arms.”
“So you only have one?”
“Just one.”
“Too bad I’ve become a liability instead of an asset around here.” The tightness in Mike’s voice brought Egan’s gaze on him.
“What?” Egan had heard that Langley was on a rampage, getting rid of anyone for any reason.
With an anxious shrug, he rubbed his tight jaw. “I fucked up—”
Gammon’s words were cut off when the glass doors to Langley’s private patio came flying open. Novah sprinted out, looking like she’d swallowed a razor blade.
Langley followed, bobbing. “Where are you going?” he yelled after her.
Novah had her head down as she took the steps then came to a stop when she saw Egan standing there. He tried to read her expression as he fisted his hands.
“Novah, come back!” Langley slurred.
Egan took a step forward to interject, but she gave a subtle shake of her head and continued down the steps onto the pristine lawn. Langley, who’d been oblivious to Gammon and Egan until that moment, gave them a bitter snarl then he stepped back through the doors.
“Money might not buy you everything,” Gammon said, “—but it sure buys you a bit of happiness.” He shook his head. “I better go check the south side.”
Egan stood there for a long-time, his feet rooted to the concrete. What the hell just happened? His gut clenched. His mind swirled. He looked back at the now closed doors to Langley’s office and felt the need to ram through them like the Hulk. He also had a strong desire to break the man’s neck. Without knowing what had happened, it had only taken a glimpse of Novah’s face to understand that Langley had done something to upset her.
So what had he done?
Egan could only guess.
Feeling like he’d been run over by a truck, he’d come to a Y in the road. If he confronted Langley, his case would blow up. He’d destroy any future cases for VK. And Novah might never forgive him.
Pissed and needing to hit something, and before Langley became the target of the animosity, Egan dragged his radio from his belt, logged off for the evening, and stomped toward the staff quarters. By the time he reached the door to his room, he’d left Novah ten text messages, one after another, and she wasn’t answering.
He practically tore the door off the hinges as he entered his room and left a trail of discarded clothes on the floor as he stomped his way toward the small bathroom. Switching on the water to ice-fucking-cold, he stepped under the spray, forcing himself to stay under the blast although his muscles ached. He jerked and spasmed, but he didn’t make a move to switch the knob to warm—not yet. Even when his hands and feet became numb, he stayed there, water pouring over his head. Finally, he turned the knob that brought warmth to his body. Grabbing the bar of soap, he scrubbed his
