Chapter 34 #2
She moved back to let him in out of the rain. “I’ve been going crazy. I’ve cleaned every inch of this place.”
He sighed as he toed off his shoes. “I’m sorry about that.”
She nodded as she moved closer to the couch, reaching for his hand. “So, what’s going on? Where did you go?”
He pulled her into a hug, holding on tight. “I met up with my co-worker.”
She returned his embrace, resting her head against his chest, waiting for him to tell her more, but he said nothing else. Easing back, she held his gaze. “What’s going on, Ty?”
He shook his head with unmistakable regret in his eyes. “I can’t tell you that right now.”
She eased herself away from him, quickly realizing that something was different. He was different. Ty was standing right in front of her, but he felt miles away. “Who decided that? Your buddies?”
He shrugged. “All of us, I guess.”
She took another step back, suddenly feeling like she needed to protect herself. “What happened to us being in this together? I thought we were controlling the narrative together.”
He touched her arm. “Let’s sit down, Lyd, because things are a little complicated.”
She shook her head, nearly certain that she didn’t want to sit down, so she crossed her arms instead.
He continued to stand as she did. “I can tell you that James is in the clear. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I told you that all along.” But she swallowed, pressing her hand to her suddenly queasy stomach when he said nothing about her cousin. “What about Will?”
“We’re going to talk about that when I can.”
She found herself taking another step away. “That feels a little cruel, don’t you think? Leaving me to wonder when you asked for my help?”
He sighed, sending her another apologetic look. “I’m going to do everything I can to help him.”
She moved to the kitchen for a glass, wanting to be busy as everything felt like it was changing. “Do you want something to drink?”
“They want me back in DC on Monday, Lyd.”
She whirled as his words stole her breath.
“I’m going to try to stall a little bit, but we’re going to have to decide on our story—how we want this to end.”
She stared at the island as she crossed her arms again, trying to comprehend that this was truly happening. Without any warning, Ty’s undercover operation was over. Apparently, so were they. “I thought we had time. You said we had time.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t control when a case breaks.”
She looked at him again. “So, I guess this is it, then.”
“After I get things figured out with Will, we can spend Sunday together before I have to head to the airport.”
She huffed out a humorless laugh. “Wow. That’s really generous.”
He frowned. “Don’t do that. I don’t want things to be this way.”
She shrugged helplessly because she had no idea what to do. Everything about this moment felt sickeningly similar to being fourteen and learning that she’d lost her family. “But they are this way.”
“I had no idea that things were going to happen like this.”
She shrugged again. “It was never real, anyway.”
“Yes, it was. It is.”
She adamantly shook her head. “Don’t say that to me when you’re about to pack your bags and leave.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. My bosses want me back in the office on Monday.”
“Then you should go.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“I think— It’s probably best if you go right now.”
He blinked at her as if she’d slapped him. “What?”
She nodded. “I want you to get your stuff and go.” Because everything about this was killing her.
He moved her way. “Lyd—”
She stepped around the island, farther away from him. “You got the information you needed. Now our fake relationship is over. I’ll let my family know that we broke up.”
He closed the distance between them, snagging her by the arm. “Lyd—”
“Don’t,” she said as she yanked away, struggling to keep her voice steady and her tears in check. “Please don’t touch me.”
He reached for her again. “Lydia.”
She shook her head, evading him. “Just go, Ty. Please get out.”
“Lyd, I don’t want to get out.”
She swallowed. “I need you to.”
He sighed, holding her stare for several long moments, then headed upstairs.
She closed her eyes, quickly wiping at the tears trailing down her cheeks as she hurried to the door and slipped on her slides, rushing outside, needing to be gone when he came back downstairs.
Heading for the main house, she let herself into the library, waiting with the door cracked as several minutes passed before a car pulled up.
Ty walked out the front door, carrying his bags on his shoulders as he looked toward her SUV, then toward the beach. “Lyd,” he called. “Lydia.”
She closed her eyes as more tears fell, sucking in several shuddering breaths, yearning to go to him, but she knew that she couldn’t.
He grabbed his phone from his back pocket, touching the screen before he put it to his ear.
Seconds later, Will’s phone started to ring somewhere in the house.
“Hey,” Ty said as he continued to look around. “Have you seen Lydia?” He sighed as he shook his head. “No. I’ll talk to you later.”
Hanging up, he hesitated, then got into the back seat of the Uber. He closed the door, and it drove away.
“Oh God,” she said, sobbing now as she hurried back to her house, making a beeline for the stairs and her things. She needed to get out of there. She couldn’t be there anymore. Everything felt empty and wrong.
Grabbing the bags she’d arrived with from the closet, she scooped up her clothes from the drawers, much like Mac had done a mere few hours ago.
She moved to the bathroom next, snatching up her items, throwing things into bags at random, packing in record time.
Hurrying outside, she popped the trunk, tossing the bags in as Will walked down the path in a pair of ratty shorts and a T-shirt.
He stopped next to her, bending slightly as they stood under the shelter of the hatch. “What’s wrong? What are you doing?”
She couldn’t stop crying, no matter how hard she tried. “I need to get home.”
He frowned. “As in you’re going to Virginia?”
She nodded. “Ty and I broke up—”
His eyes grew wide. “What? Is this because of me?”
She shook her head, moving to close the trunk. “Sometimes things don’t work out.”
He stopped her with his hands on her shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Lydia.”
She wrapped her arms around him, loving him more than she was mad at him. “I love you, Will.”
He returned her embrace. “I love you, too.”
She eased back, swiping at her tears. “I hope you and Mac can work things out.”
He nodded. “I’m going to fight like hell to make her understand how much I love her.”
She pressed her palm to his cheek. “Good.”
“Are you sure you can’t stay?”
She shook her head as she closed the trunk. “I need to hit the road. It’s a long drive.”
He followed her to the driver’s side door. “You won’t make it back until after midnight.”
She opened it and got behind the wheel. “That’s okay.”
“Be safe, Lydia. Text me when you get home.”
She nodded as she started the car, needing to get gone. “I’ll text,” she said as she plugged in her phone, selecting the button for her Virginia address in Google Maps before she closed the door.
Will waved.
She waved back, then pulled away, ignoring the phone call that popped up on her dashboard screen as Ty tried to reach her.
Moving down the coastal road, then through the heavier traffic in town, she listened to the back-and-forth swish of the windshield wipers in the silence.
There would be no laughter, singing, or conversation on the drive south. There would be no dance parties on the side of the road.
She picked up her speed as she finally reached the interstate, determined to get home and get back to her life. She had every intention of forgetting about the FBI and Special Agent Tyler Corddry.