Chapter 22 Phoenix
PHOENIX
“Who sent you those flowers?” I snapped.
Silence.
That was all the answer I needed.
My jaw tightened as I spun on my heel, the warning bell in my head screaming cool it, man—but I didn’t listen. I never did.
I stormed across the room, the whole damn day boiling in my blood. “I thought you said you didn’t have a boyfriend.”
“I don’t.”
“Then who the hell are these orchids from?”
Her eyes locked onto mine, sharp and defiant, a fire sparking behind them.
“An old friend.”
That did it. I didn’t know what pissed me off more—that cool, aloof tone she slipped into when she wanted distance, or the fact that she thought she could throw some vague answer at me and I’d back off.
Like I was too damaged to see what was right in front of me. Like I couldn’t smell that they were from another man.
My fists clenched at my sides. I felt the throb of it, the instinct to move, to do something.
Another man.
The thought was like acid. Jealousy twisted low in my gut, hot and unfamiliar in a way that made me feel twelve kinds of out of control.
Because this wasn’t about her safety anymore. This was about her.
And what was mine.
“Hand delivered?” I asked, voice low and hard.
“No.”
“When? When were they sent?”
“Yesterday.”
“The same day you found the bear?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Sherlock, there’s your prime fucking suspect right there.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child—”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot.”
Her lips curled to a snarl. She was becoming annoyed with me. I was too much. Right now, I was too much. And I knew it. But God help me, I couldn’t stop it.
“The person who delivered the flowers did not plant the video recorder,” she said.
“How do you know that?”
“Because the person who sent the flowers doesn’t have a key to my house.”
“He broke in.”
“The flowers were left on the doorstep!” Her voice pitched in the first explosion of emotion I’d seen from her. “Why would he leave flowers on my door, then break into my house?”
“He.”
“That’s right, Phoenix. He.”
“Who’s he?”
“My ex fiancé.”
My insides started vibrating. “Give me a name.”
“None of your business.”
“Name, Rose.”
“You don’t know him.”
“Rose.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, lips pressed in a thin line. Finally—“Josh Davis.”
There have been few times in my life that I’d been genuinely shocked.
This one, though, took the cake. And that’s saying something.
My jaw literally dropped open—wasn’t proud of that, but that was the least of my worries.
Her eyes rounded, too, perhaps realizing, for the first time, that it was a good bet that two former Marines did know each other.
Yeah, I knew Josh Davis. My arch-nemesis and the asshole who was responsible for spreading my medical information all over fucking town.
I couldn’t even repeat his name. “Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not kidding you.”
I’d stepped into my own twilight zone.
“Where is he?” My gaze darted around the cabin as if I’d expected him to materialize out of thin air. Trust me, I wished he would have.
She threw up her arms. “What does it matter?”
“He’s an entitled, spoiled, ass-kissing douchebag. Who, by the way, is more than capable of breaking into your house and setting up his own personal peep show.” My pulse roared in my ears. “Where is he? I want to talk to him. Now.”
“You’re not going to talk to him. You need to calm down.”
“What did the card say?”
“That’s none of your business, Phoenix.”
I jabbed my fingers through my hair and began pacing.
“Why do you hate him so much?” There was less anger in her voice now.
“We served together in Afghanistan,” I snarled.
“And?”
“And what? That kid is the poorest excuse for a soldier and deserves to rot in hell.” Flashbacks popped in my head like little explosions, along with shooting pains against my temples. I blinked, willing the lightning to subside.
“I can’t believe you dated him. What the hell were you thinking, doctor?”
Her eyes rounded and nose flared. “How dare you talk to me like that?”
“How dare you date someone like that? You’re too good for that piece of shit.
And why are you so sure he didn’t plant a camera in your bedroom?
Are you whipped by his bank account like everyone else?
” Stop, Phoenix, stop, the little voice in my head said.
But I didn’t. In fact, I followed that little doozy up with, “I figured someone who considers themselves a doctor would have more sense than that.”
Her cheeks flooded with color as her hands curled to fists.
Rose had fight in her.
She stepped toe-to-toe with me. And dammit, I respected that.
“Because, Phoenix…” The sneer in her tone was as cold as ice. “Josh doesn’t need to put a camera in my bedroom. He’s already seen every inch of my naked body.”
The fury—the possessiveness—that rose through me actually wavered my vision.
With that final bomb, she spun on her heel, stormed past me and yanked open the front door. Rain whipped inside, spinning her hair around an expression that told me I’d just sealed the deal on making sure Dr. Floris saw me as nothing more than a total asshole.
My time was up. I was being kicked out of her house, her life.
Well, at least I was going out with a bang.
I breezed past her, the slamming door missing my ass by a half-inch.
Wind whipped over my heated skin as I stepped off the deck.
Josh. Fucking. Davis.
Josh Davis and Rose Floris.
Engaged.
The rage released in a guttural scream as my fist connected with a tree. Again, again, again, the bark flying into the air with speckles of my own blood.
Josh Davis and Rose Floris.
Another knuckle split open.
Josh Davis and Rose Floris.
When the third knuckle split, I stopped, gripped the trunk and rested my forehead against the cold, wet bark.
I hated myself.
My heart was still racing when I looked over my shoulder and saw Rose’s silhouette in the window. Then, the curtains were yanked closed, and she disappeared.
Good. Go, I thought, because you’re too good for me.
Because I am crazy.
I am fucking crazy.