Page 36 of The Sinners Gambit

“Oh-okay,” she says.

“I can have Axel take you back into the city.”

“Thanks, it’ll be nice to say bye to him too,” she says.

“It was nice seeing your friendship blossom. I knew you’d both hit it off. If only w—” I stop myself.

“Um, yeah.” She mercifully lets my thoughts go without a response.

As she stands up, her legs wobble. I quickly get up to stabilize her, and our eyes connect, making my heart feel like there’s a million splinters inside. We stare at each other as a world of emotions and unspoken words passes between us. Ones that we’re not ready to confront.

“Take care, Naomi,” I say.

“Y-you too, Killian,” she mumbles as she quickly runs out of the room.

I pick up my phone and call Axel.

“Hello?” he answers.

“Take her home.”

“Wait, what? What happ—?”

“Just take her home,” I grind out. I feel like there’s no oxygen circulating through my body.

“Yes, sir,” he says as he hangs up.

I fall to my knees and shove my face in my palms.

What the fuck just happened?

While I don’t have the answer to that question for myself, I do know I feel like the very reason for my existence just walked out of my life, and I’ll never be able to breathe or function again. I feel like a shell of a human.

“Killian?” Axel says to me several hours later from my doorway.

I’m sitting in my recliner reading a book—Naomi’s favorite one. “Mmmm?” I mumble out, pretending like I’m reading. I couldn’t tell anyone a damn thing about what’s going on. I’ve been stuck in the same damn spot on page twenty since I opened the book an hour ago.

“You okay, man?” he asks as he sits across from me on the couch.

“Did you drop her off?” I ask, even though I know the answer to that. I stopped myself from watching her through the cameras I planted in her home. But I did check to see if the GPS on the car left her at the house. Not that I don’t trust Axel, I just needed to see for myself.

“Yes, she seemed off . . . a lot like you,” he admits. “I’m worried about you both.”

“Naomi is strong and—”

“And apparently a manipulative and crazy-smart woman!” Axel chimes in.

“That she is. I take it she told you everything?” I put the bookmark in the book, finally giving up. I wasn’t reading shit.

“Yeah, it was a long car ride, and I refused to let silence fill it.” That’s my best friend, ever the chatty Cathy. At least their friendship was real.Maybe?

“How did it end?” I ask curiously.

He gives me a half-smile. “I asked her if we’d ever see her again. She said she’d love to have lunch with me sometime, and introduce me to Quinnly.”

“Oh,” I say, feeling my heart sink.Real, I guess.

“But she said she’ll need some time.” He leans in so his arms are resting on his knees. “How about you? What do you need?”

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