Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
She sniffed, her anger with Ben returning full force.
“Listen… it’s none of my business, but—” He broke off when she whirled to glare at him.
“What?” she demanded.
“Just—don’t be too hard on him. He looked about as miserable as I’ve ever seen him this morning. I don’t think he meant to hurt you and I know he felt terrible about it.”
Some of her anger lessened, which for some reason made her feel weepy. She drew in several breaths to get control. “Well, why in the hell did he leave?”
Zolla shrugged. “I don’t know. My sense is that he carries around a lot of guilt—something to do with Leon’s death. He feels responsible for some reason. And I think hurting someone else he loved just made him tuck tail and run.”
Hearing that Zolla believed Ben loved her made her nose burn. She rubbed it.
“Honestly, Ashley. I know he didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She looked away to hide the emotion in her face.
His phone rang and he answered it. “How’d it go?” He listened for a moment. “Do you need cleanup?”
She strained her ears to hear the other person talking, wondering if it was Ben.
Her question was answered with Zolla’s next reply. “She’s okay. No major arteries, the wounds are healing well… No, she won’t need to see a doctor, unless she wants to.” He raised his eyebrows in question at her and she shook her head. “Okay.” Zolla held out the phone to her. “He wants to talk to you.”
She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head.
Zolla spoke into the phone. “Hey, man, she’s not feeling up to it, yet.” He turned away as if having a private conversation with Ben. “Give her a little time. It was a little shocking for her, that’s all.”
“A little?” she muttered.
Zolla hung up and turned back to her. “He thinks it’s safe for you and Melissa to return home.”
“What happened with Jack?”
“Ben took care of him. He had taken a job at Suma Games and wanted to ruin Stone and steal the code before he left.”
“What did Ben do?”
“He finished it,” he said with a finality that made her shiver. “He thinks it’s safe for you and Melissa to go home now.”
Though it was irrational, disappointment at once again being dissed by Ben sent bile into her throat. “Great,” she said in a strangled voice. “Is Mel still at your place?”
“Yeah, I’ll head back and let her know. Do you want her to call you or anything?”
“Tell her to meet me at my place,” she said, picking up her purse and fishing out the keys.
“Will do,” Zolla said, opening the door and waiting for her to go through it first.
“Thanks,” she said, turning and giving Zolla a hug.
He froze, patting her awkwardly on the back. He cleared his throat. “Uh, no problem. You shouldn’t need to put anything on that bite—no hydrogen peroxide or antibiotic. The serum will protect you from infection. Are you okay to drive or do you still feel drugged?”
“I’m okay to drive,” she said. She felt odd, but the vertigo had worn off. “Is it okay to get it wet? I could use a long shower.”
“Should be fine. Just take it easy today. Put my number in your phone and call me if you have any questions or if you feel worse. Or if you need anything.”
She entered him into her contacts and gave him a weak smile. “Thanks again, Zolla.”
“Yeah. Be kind to your wolf, Ashley. He really is sorry.”
She shrugged. “He has yet to tell me that.” Not that she’d given him the opportunity.
She was grateful that Zolla didn’t point out that would have been impossible since she’d refused to take Ben’s call. She knew she was being somewhat irrational, but Ben’s abandonment was the clincher in a whole string of emotional shut-outs from the very beginning of their relationship.
She’d had enough. She didn’t know where they’d be going from here, but she was damn sure she wasn’t going to let it continue like this. She couldn’t go on feeling this unsteady. She didn’t give herself to a guy only to have him vanish every time things got intense.
10
That afternoon, Ben sat in his office, the quiet deafening. Zolla had come to consult with Ben’s IT guys to get all the servers back up and running and the security back in place.
His stomach stayed in knots all day thinking about Ashley. The fact that she didn’t take his call provided a fresh source of torture. He tried again several times, but each time it went straight to voicemail, as if she’d shut her phone off or her battery was dead.
He prayed she wasn’t suffering. He had doubts about how well Zolla had cared for her. Maybe he should’ve insisted she be taken into emergency for stitches. Had she been given any painkillers? Would she ever speak to him again?