Sam made her way back down the long hallway, pausing just before Nick’s room to lean against the wall and collect herself. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Malone had said. Was she in love with Nick? Is that why she’d allowed things with him to progress even though she knew it was wrong and could get her into a shit load of trouble? Had she maybe always loved him? Way back to the first time they met?

With a soft groan, she tipped back her aching head. She hadn’t loved Peter but discovered that far too late. When Nick failed to call her after their night together—or so she thought—she’d been seriously depressed. Peter came to the rescue, offering a shoulder to cry on and a friend to lean on. It had been easy, too easy she later realized, to get swept up by him.

Now, on top of everything else she’d learned about him, she knew he intercepted Nick’s calls while pretending to offer comfort, proving he was an even bigger asshole than she had given him credit for being. He had robbed her of a lot more than four years of her life. He had taken her self-esteem, caused her to question her judgment, stolen her self-respect and left her confidence in tatters.

A smart woman would be leery of making another mistake after the whopper she’d made with Peter. A smart woman would go slow with Nick, would take her time, would make sure she was doing the right thing. As the clank of metal against metal reminded her she had a very angry man to deal with, she decided she clearly wasn’t as smart as she’d always thought.

Pasting a big smile on her face, she stepped into the room, her stomach aching from the tension. “Great! You’re all done.”

All but smoking with rage, Nick said, “Get these things off me, Sam. Right now.”

“I’d be happy to.” She dug the key out of her pocket and dangled it in front of him. “But before I do, let’s get one thing straight. I need you to stay out of my work stuff. Agree to that, and I’ll let you go.”

“How do you know I don’t plan to let you go once you unlock me?”

The question sent a surprising jolt of fear through her. “Well, I guess that’ll be up to you, won’t it?” she said with more bravado than she felt.

“Unlock me. Now.”

“Not until you agree.”

“I’m not agreeing to anything while I’m locked to a bed. If you want to unlock me and talk this through like rational adults, then that’s fine.”

She studied his furious, handsome face for a long moment. “You’re awfully sexy when you’re pissed.” Leaning down, she kissed the bandage over his left eye.