“Evie, get in the car.” King was resigned to take his punishment for endangering her, but Evie didn’t budge until she saw a brief flash of light and knew she had temporarily bought King a stay. Only then did she finally slide into the car with her head pounding.
King closed the car door, lighting a cigar with a shaking hand. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“No, I have a concussion. I need to lie down and take it easy for a while, but I will be fine. I guess I won’t be catching my plane in the morning.”
“You booked a plane? You were going to leave without talking to me?”
“I have nothing to say.”
“Evie, I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”
“You’re full of shit. You’ve judged me from the moment you met me, just like you did Shade. You’re the one who’s fucked up. I trusted you. I thought you were smart enough to step away from that deal. I was wrong. The next time you screw up, I won’t be around to save your ass.”
“I did step away. I told Ramos to do his business and get out of town, then Rabbit called and said Ramos had you. He didn’t trust me not to interfere. I spent most of my life building my reputation, and it almost got you killed!”
“Thank God, it wasn’t Lily.”
“You’re just as important as Lily is to me, Evie.”
“Don’t lie,” Evie seethed.
“I’m not lying.”
Evie turned away, not willing to argue with him. That’s when she noticed Henry had pulled up in front of King’s building. “Take me to Penni’s.”
“Stay the night. At least let me make sure you’re okay. You can sleep in the spare bedroom. You have to be checked every so often because of your concussion.”
“Penni is there.”
“You want to explain to her what happened?”
No, she didn’t. It would be hours before Penni would let her sleep if she did.
Resigned to her fate, Evie tiredly got out of the car, moving away from King's touch. Silently, she followed him into his penthouse. She knew the way to his spare bedroom and that’s where she went, closing the door on him before he could speak.
She toed off her shoes before lying down on the bed, not bothering to turn down the blankets. Curling on her side, she stared at the emptiness of the bed beside her and fell asleep within minutes. She hadn’t slept through the night since her fight with King.
Later that night, King woke her up with a cold drink. When she sat up, gratefully taking a long gulp, he gave her some ibuprofen which helped with her headache.
She was about to go back to sleep when she realized she didn’t have her purse. She started to get out of bed.
“What are you doing?”
“I need my purse; it has my phone.”
“You’re going to leave in the middle of the night for your phone?”
“I need my phone,” she said stubbornly.
“Get back in bed. I’ll send Henry after it.”
“Thank you.” Evie lay back down, falling back asleep.
* * *
Sometime later, she felt her head prodded.
“Stop, that hurts!”
“Let him check you out.”
Evie’s eyes flickered open to see an older face staring down at her interestedly.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hi.”
“He’s my physician,” King said. “I wanted to have you checked out to make sure you’re okay.”
“It’s just a mild concussion.”
“She’s right,” King’s physician agreed, straightening from the bed.
“Told you so,” Evie muttered then fell back asleep.
* * *
Evie woke feeling more clearheaded later in the day. She sat up slowly before getting to her feet, making sure she wasn’t dizzy before going to the bathroom. She took her time washing her face, staring at her pale reflection; the dark shadows under her eyes would need a coat of make-up to cover them.
Back in the bedroom, she flipped through her messages then texted Penni she was fine and would be back that afternoon. She then called and rescheduled her flight, giving herself a couple of days before she traveled.
She looked down at the t-shirt she was wearing, surprised. She hadn’t imagined King would ever own a t-shirt; it didn’t fit his elegant style. She couldn’t picture him in jeans and t-shirts. He was the complete antithesis of the type of men who attracted her.
She picked up her clothes from the chair, getting dressed, and King came in as she was putting on her shoes.
“What are you doing?”
“Leaving. I’m feeling better.”
“Stay. You need to recuperate.”
“I can do that at Penni’s.”
He stood with his hands in his pockets, staring back at her with a grim face. “I can’t convince you to stay?”