Page 68 of Crash
Except, when she thought about home, it wasn’t her empty apartment that came to mind but the gruff mechanic who stomped all over her heart.
Regardless of the possible misunderstanding, she needed to take care of business. Quynh had avoided her responsibilities long enough. Though it hurt, she needed to leave town.
The sooner, the better.
thirty
GRIFFIN
Griffin never thought he was capable of committing murder until he walked into the mess Delilah left for him. If he could get away with it, he’d strangle her until she was blue in the face. When she’d shown up with her peace offering of his favorite meal, he knew she was up to no good. Combined with launching herself at him and calling him baby? She signed her death certificate.
After forcibly removing Delilah’s arms from around his neck, he cursed when he realized Quynh had taken off to the apartment upstairs. He wasn’t fast enough to catch her before she slid the deadbolt home. The sound of it sliding into place was like a nail to his coffin.
He had some serious explaining to do, even if it was just a misunderstanding. Delilah was nothing to him except for a disgruntled, scorned ex-secretary whom he should have fired months before she pulled her last stunt, but he hadn’t wanted to deal with the administrativework. He’d hoped she’d get the hint if he continued to ignore her advances, but obviously, she’d taken it as encouragement when he didn’t follow through and let her go.
What a mistake.
A mistake that might cost him so much more.
He’d wait her out and give Quynh some time to cool down. It would also help if he didn’t commit murder. Jail time would put a damper on his case. It would be hard to talk to her when he was behind bars.
So, even though it pained him to walk away, Griffin forced himself to move away from the locked door. He’d banged his forehead on the door when he realized it was futile, short of kicking the door down, but then he’d have to fix it. Worse, he didn’t want to scare her with his antics.
He was an adult. A grown man with impulse control. Even if inside, he wanted to rage like the caveman he was. He wanted to kick down the door, toss Quynh over his shoulder, march her across the street, and lock her up in his bedroom. He might give her a good spanking to let her know how frustrated he was with the situation. Then he’d kiss it all better.
When he stomped back down the stairs, Delilah was wringing her hands in the lobby. He had no idea what she was waiting for. If running off after another woman wasn’t a clue, Griffin wasn’t sure how much more obvious he could be.
“Delilah. What the fuck are you doing here?” The words were low and laced with a threat. If Delilah were smart, she’d run back through those doors she waltzed through before it was too late for her.
“I missed you,” Delilah practically whimpered, tears shining brightly in her big blue eyes. They did nothing for him, though. No, if anything, it angered him to think the woman he cared about was upstairs thinking the worst of him because of the person standing in front of him right now.
“You need to leave.” Hands on his hips, Griffin’s withering stare would make any grown man shake in his boots.
“I brought you and the boy’s lunch!” Her shriek was grating to his ears. As if she thought the sight of food would soften his resolve towards her.
“Thanks, but no thanks.” Griffin resisted the urge to forcibly remove her from the premises. Delilah did enough damage. If she stayed a second longer, who knew what other trouble she could get into?
“It’s from your favorite pizza place…” Delilah’s lower lip quivered. Griffin sighed and brought a hand to rub at his face. His frustration was evident in the tense muscles of his shoulders.
“Delilah, I am going to say this for the last time.” Griffin ran a hand through his hair before leveling her with a glare. “You are not welcome on the propertyanymore. If you return, I will call the cops and have you removed.”
He stared unmoving as tears started falling.
“But…I love you.” She sniffed through her tears.
Griffin scoffed.
Love? What did this twenty-something know about love?
Outside of work and shared lunches, they had nothing in common. He was almost two decades older than her, for god’s sake!
“You’re a young woman who has her whole life ahead of her. I am not who you think I am.” Griffin tried to soften the blow. “But you need to leave, or I will call the cops for trespassing.”
Griffin handed Delilah a box of tissues and tried not to wince when she blew her nose. She tossed the used tissues into the trash can before offering him a watery smile. After another awkward moment, she finally left with her shoulders hunched and tail between her legs. He waited to see her car leave the parking lot before he went back to the garage bay. He rang the bell to let the guys know he had an announcement, and when Julio and Sean stopped their tasks, he told them about the pizzas waiting in the lobby.
Though the food smelled delicious, Griffin lost his appetite. His stomach was in knots over the woman upstairs. He hoped she’d let him explain what she overheard.
He was finishing up the final touches to Henderson’s car when he got a message from Ricky asking him for a favor.
