Page 97 of Rear View
Female Fans To The Fray.
Single? Bachelor? What thehell?
No wonder she was upset. Christ. She’d thought I played her. That I was hiding her. I knew I would’ve if the script were flipped. But what did I say?“Sorry, darlin’. I didn’t know.”? Didn’t matter that it was true, ’causethe optics were shit. Anything I told her’d only make it look like I was covering my ass.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t gonna talk, ’cause there was someone who goddamn well needed to hear it.
There was a thump at the door and Ryah flinched, her body going rigid. I angled my glare that way. Her steps were small like she was scared when she headed toward it and checked that peephole. Frowning, she swiped her tears away and cracked it open.
“Christian?” she said, voice rising.
My jaw locked down.Christian? The fuck?
“Somebody propped the door open downstairs. I just wanted to check on you,” he said, his tone easy.
He’d only be checking if he knew something was wrong, which meant, surer than shit, he’d seen that article. And I’d put good money on him being the one to shove it in her face.
His eyes tracked into the apartment and landed on me. Pushing past her, he stormed inside, stopping a few feet away. “What are you doing here?”
“I’d suggest you pull back,” I said through my teeth.
He shook his head. “I warned her about you. I told her you’d hurt her.”
Ryah sealed the entrance and tore a hand through her hair. “Christian, stop.”
My arm twitched, itching to introduce my fist to his face, but pissed as I was, he wasn’t the one who had something to prove. Jerking my phone from my pocket, I punched Trina’s number and put it on speaker so my girl could hear every damn word, then chucked the thing on the counter between us.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ryah
I frowned, fighting the tears that seared my eyes. Xavier hadn’t said anything. Hadn’t apologized. Hadn’t tried to defend himself. Nothing. Just placed a call.A freaking call.As if he hadn’t just flayed my heart.
Christian folded his arms over his chest as he snarled at Xavier, “Are you kidding right now?”
X’s fists creaked when he flexed them, his glare spearing his phone’s screen as if he was itching for violence and whoever he’d called was about to feel it.
“Xavier!” Trina’s annoyingly familiar voice answered, her tone bright and eager and entirely too sultry. “I’m so glad to hear from you. Have you seen the article yet?”
“Lookin’ at it now,” he said through his teeth.
“This is perfect. Are you free? We should get together. Go over it and celebrate.”
My throat stung as the bitter tang that flooded my tongue burned there.
“No,” he told her, his tone flat and cold. So damn cold. “Now, pull it.”
My eyes flew wide. Okay. Not what I’d expected.
Christian shook his head and scoffed.
There was a long pause before Trina spoke again. “What?”
“I said pull the article.”
“I can’t just pull it, Xavier.”
“Then get ’em to print a retraction.”
