Red

Part 14

Bucky

By the time Friday rolls around, Mallery has filed her reports with the police department, Laura Barton has filed an expedited motion for the protection order, and my contractor has assured me that with enough monetary incentive, my apartment will be finished by the end of next week. I also had to guarantee that his company would take over another project I had planned, but it was worth it to ensure Mallery and I would get out of the family's way.

Mallery is ready to move; while she doesn't want to leave her family, especially after becoming close again, she doesn't want the pressure of putting them in danger hanging over her. She's not thrilled with the idea of living with me; we have our own past to worry about. But with the top-notch security and the 24-hour doorman, she knows she'll be safer there.

I'm leaving a meeting in accounting when my phone vibrates in my pocket with a message from Steve. Meet me at the Brooklyn project. We need to talk.

Groaning, I reply, telling him that I'm going to need some time to get out of here, and he assures me he isn't leaving anytime soon. When I get back to my office, Mallery is on the phone but flags me down as I pass by.

"I need a few minutes of your time," she whispers to me, and I nod, entering my office but leaving the door open for her. When she finally wraps up her call, she taps on my door and enters, shutting out the rest of the office behind her.

"How was the meeting?" she asks, stalling for time.

"Fine, this quarter's numbers look good. I'm not worried." I eye her crossed arms and sigh. "What's wrong?"

"Steve's been trying to get ahold of you. I—"

"He texted me. I need to leave here for a while and meet him."

"Okay. Laura called. She can't push the order through, even after what happened the other night." Mallery finally sits on the sofa and stares at me as if I have the answers she's looking for.

"We knew that might be an issue. The police are going to look into what happened, and they're going to bring Hoskins in for questioning; Carter and Wilson told you that when you filed the report." Leaning my elbows on the desk, I scrub at my face. "Did she say how long?"

"No, just that she'd keep me updated." Mallery closes her eyes and sighs. "How long will you be with Steve?"

"Hopefully, not long. I'd like to take you by my place so you can get a feel for the place. If you're free tomorrow, we can go pick out furniture for your room," I say, glancing at my watch.

"What are you talking about?"

"I haven't furnished the room yet, so everything is up to you. Unless you want to sleep on an air mattress." I smile so she knows I'm joking, but Mallery doesn't crack.

She stands abruptly. "Please don't buy me anything, Bucky. I'm already indebted to you for the job and now the place to stay. I—"

I stand quickly, moving to the opposite side of my desk, right in front of her. "I don't want anything from you."

"Really? Nothing?" Her eyebrow jerks up, and I roll my neck, popping the tense muscles. She knows how I feel—it's never changed, even if I kept my distance all these years. "I know you may not expect anything from me, but you definitely want something from me."

"I know you're used to being treated a certain way." I take a deliberate step away from her. "I won't do that to you. I won't hold things over your head; ask you for repayment. I'm not John."

"No, but you're a man, and men have certain ideas and expectations," Mallery explains to me as if I'm naïve to the ways of the world. It takes everything in me not to feel like she's just slapped me across my face.