The driver blinked at her over his shoulder, but stepped on the gas. As the cab sped away from Jake’s house, she caught a brief glimpse of him toppling outside as she passed. He caught the doorframe, barely keeping himself from hitting the ground.
And she turned away.
The cab driver cleared his throat. “Where to, miss?”
She stared down at her bag, still blinking back tears. She didn’t want to go home. Didn’t want to stay there, knowing he might come find her. She didn’t trust herself around him. Not anymore. “Airport,” she croaked out. “Take me to the closest airport.”
As he drove, she took out her iPhone and opened an airline website. Within seconds, she had a flight booked to Florida. She had a vacation home there, and it would give her the chance she needed to heal. To forget.
When they got to the airport, she tipped the driver and got through security in record time. It wasn’t until she was in the air and she flopped her head back on her seat in first class that she let herself cry. And once she started, she couldn’t stop.
Because it was over.
It was so over.
Chapter Sixteen
Three days later, Jake sat behind his desk and tossed a stress ball back and forth. His sleep-deprived eyes stung, and he blinked them in an attempt to clear his vision. He was fucking exhausted, and yet he couldn’t sleep.
Every night, he went to Tara’s home and knocked. Every night, she didn’t answer. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that she’d gone to one of those houses she’d spoken about a few days ago over dinner. He didn’t have a fucking clue what to do without her.
In his empty bed, he kept staring at the ceiling. Replaying their last conversation in his head. Something had happened to him during that short time he’d been in her company again, and it hadn’t been fixed when she walked out of his life. If anything, it had gotten worse. She had broken something inside him. Something irreparable that missed her, needed her, and wanted her back.
He snorted. Yeah. As if that was going to happen.
Reclining in his chair, he kicked his feet on his desk. He had her file open, and had been staring at her photo like a lovesick teenager for the better part of the morning. He missed her so damn much. She hated him, and he deserved her hatred. He’d lied and that was the end of that. She’d never liked liars, and that hadn’t changed about her.
Thief or not, she valued honesty.
The door opened, and his boss poked his head through. He’d been expecting it to be Gordon with an update about his princess assignment, but it wasn’t. “Hey. You’re still here?”
“Yeah,” Jake said, confusion taking hold. Had he zoned out all day long? Shit if he knew. He checked the time. It was only eleven in the morning. Raising a brow, he asked, “Where else would I be? Did I forget about an appointment?”
“No. How you feeling?”
Jake flinched. Last night, he and Cooper had gotten piss-assed drunk, and Jake had spent all night talking about how much he missed Tara. He’d never drink tequila around the other man again. Hell, he’d even called Christine and spilled his guts to her, too. Told her how much he missed Tara, and how he needed to fix it.
He owed her an apology call now, too.
He sighed. “I’m good. Sorry about last night, by the way.”
“No worries, man. It happens to the best of us.” Cooper rubbed his jaw. “Did you sleep at all last night? Or the night before that?”
“No, not really,” he admitted. He rubbed his eyes. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you look like hell. Gordon does, too .”
Jake chuckled. “Yeah. I know. I heard he went out with the IT guy after we talked to him.”
“That dude can drink. But back on topic—maybe you need a change of scenery.” Cooper tossed an envelope on his desk. “I have a new assignment for you in Florida.”
Great.
An assignment would take his mind off Tara.
He opened the envelope before looking back at Jake. “There’s no intel in here. Only tickets and an address.”
“I know.” Cooper leaned against the door. “This is all my fault. I shoved you and Tara together, and you lost her. I feel like shit about it—Kayla’s pissed, too. I have to fix it.”
“Dude. Don’t worry about it. I never really had her in the first place.” He tossed the tickets on the desk. “We were fucking around. It’s not like she loved me or anything so insane as that.”
Cooper cocked his head. “Do you love her?”
“What?” He scoffed. “No. Fuck no. No.”
“If you say no one more time, we both might believe it.”