A Grave Beneath the Floorboards novel · Chapter 9 of 24

Chapter 9: Say It to Her Face

On Friday morning I was told to wait at the station, and I was in the lawyer's waiting room by nine.

I sat in a leather chair under a framed print of the Roebling Bridge with my purse on my knees.

I had told myself I was only going to look.

I had not slept since I found Carly, and I could not stand the thought of the woman being taken in by strangers while I sat on a bench and drank bad coffee.

The receptionist glanced at me and went back to her screen.

Two other clients waited across the room, an older couple holding hands over a folder.

At nine twenty a hand closed around my elbow.

"Up," Burke said, very low.

He steered me through a side door into a concrete stairwell and let the door fall shut behind us.

His face was white around the mouth.

"I told you," he said. "Not once, not for anything."

"I know."

"You said it back to me."

"I know what I said."

"If she sees you and runs, I lose her." His voice cracked. "If she has a weapon, I lose you."

I had thought he would be angry.

I had not expected him to be afraid.

"I had to see her face," I said. "I had to be here."

"Macy."

"She's wearing her face, Burke."

He took a step closer, and then another, and my back touched the cold wall.

He put one hand on the concrete beside my head.

I could feel the heat coming off him, and I smelled soap and coffee and a faint trace of the rain.

← Chapter 8 · All chapters · Chapter 10 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend