“Then where, genius? We had to think fast, move quick. Sorry if I didn’t take the time to map out a good place to take a man to torture him.”
I yanked my arm from Shep and headed back to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.Fucking know-it-all.Nothing infuriated me more than being treated like a hothead. Especially when it came to matters like this. I wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t like I’d just said,Fuck it,and killed the guy.
I’d asked questions, and he’d decided not to answer. That wasn’t on me. But to act like I didn’twantto get to the bottom of this, like I wasn’t just as invested in finding out who was making my life a living hell, was downright insulting.
The cut above my eye was throbbing like a bitch. I inspected the gash, the dried blood indicating it wasn’t too bad, all things considered. But it was going to leave a nasty bruise all the same.
Putain.That was just what I needed when I was supposed to be attending several more events in the following weeks. A reminder of the explosion and that I was there. The press would have a field day. The story would never die.
Kind of like me.
I turned on the tap and splashed several handfuls of water over my face, the shock of the cold temperature enough to jolt me out of my red-hot rage as the door was flung open and I spun around to see Shep striding toward me.
Gone was the stupid hat and hair and the contacts that hid his true identity. In their place was the ice-cold fury of King’s second-in-command. Shep’s lips were pulled into a tight line, his fists balled at his sides, and he crowded me back into the sink and took hold of my jaw.
“You done with your pity party for one? Or do you need a few more minutes to lick your wounds?”
I tried to pull my head away, only to have him yank it back to face him.
“Because we have a problem, and I need your fucking head in the game.”
“It’s always in the game.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Are we gonna do this all night? Because I could use a shower.” I leaned in and sniffed him. “So could you.”
Shep roughly pulled his hand away from my chin but didn’t back up an inch. “We’ve got bigger issues than a fucking shower, Theo. It’s time. You know it, and I know it.”
I ground my molars as we stared each other down, and while I knew exactly what it was he wanted, there was no way it could happen.
“I can’t do that,” I said.
“Too bad.”
“Too bad, my ass. I have obligations to put on a goddamn happy front while Jean’s gone, and I can’t step away from that. Not to mention, how can we catch this asshole if we’re hiding?”
“That’s not your problem anymore. We’re going off the radar whether you like it or not.”
“We?”
“Yes, we. I’m not dropping you off somewhere so you can get antsy and try to take things into your own hands.”
I narrowed my eyes as I pushed off the counter. “Someone tried tokillme today. I think I deserve to be the one who makes them pay.”
“No one’s saying otherwise.”
“But you want us to go hide and let the others take care of it. Like fucking pussies?—”
Shep shoved me so hard, my back slammed into the door. Every muscle in my body protested, already aching from my being thrown on the ground earlier.
“Keeping your stubborn ass safe is the priority. Today only proved that this thing has gotten bigger than you and I can handle alone, and there’s no way I’m letting you do another public event until this guy’s six feet under. You got me?”
Damn, a pissed off and in charge Shep was really fucking hot, and I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Now,thatwe’re on the same page about. Well, the six-feet-under part, anyway.”
“Allof it. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. And if you want to defy me, I’ll pull rank and make you.”
“Oh? How do you plan to make me? Please go into great detail, and don’t leave anything out, especially the salacious bits.”
