Shout puffs himself up and faces Kellin. “We’re having a private conversation here.”
Kellin raises a brow, the smile on his face dropping. “From what I heard, Ms. Gallagher wasn’t interested in conversing with you. I suggest you leave.” His tone is almost polite.
Almost.
In the way that a sleeping viper isalmostharmless.
Shout sneers. “Mind your business, pretty boy.”
“Oh, I am.” The smile, sharp and not at all pleasant, returns. “Ms. Gallagher and I have a business meeting scheduled.”
The tension thickens. I can hear the hum of the lamp, the faint tick of the wall clock, the rush of blood in my ears.
I flick my attention between Kellin and Shout, struggling to process their silent exchange.
Shout’s eyes dart to me, then back at Kellin, as he weighs his odds. With a defeated hiss, he decides they aren’t in his favor. “Okay.” After throwing me one last slimy sneer, he grabs his jacket. “I’ll leave. For now.”
He exits with a scoff while grumbling curses under his breath.
The strain leeches from my shoulders, leaving me drained.
I never imagined Shout would try anything. Leer at me? Sure.
But to actually touch Declan Gallagher’s daughter? Threaten me?
Either he possesses no sense of self preservation, or he realizes that Declan and my brothers don’t give a shit about what happens to me.
I push the sting of that thought away, burying the pain with the other things I’d rather forget.
Kellin’s quiet, his jaw set. The vein at his temple continues to throb. My own pulse still beats like a drum, in sync with his.
The chill I noticed in him this morning—that marbled, businesslike detachment—has melted away.
He spins toward me, his gaze traveling over me in a slow, deliberate way.
Nothing like Shout’s greedy lust.
I find desire, yes. But also more than that.
Protectiveness? Jealousy? Possession?
I could be wrong, but…every cell in my body yearns to be right.
“You okay?” A raw quality roughens Kellin’s voice.
I open my mouth to speak, but no sound comes out. My tongue is frozen, my mouth full of cotton.
I settle for a nod instead, planting my trembling hands on the desk to still them.
Did I imagine the ice in his gaze earlier? His aloofness in the elevator this morning?
Because at this particular moment, the man might be radiating enough heat to incinerate me.
Chapter 11
Kellin
I should have chased that bastard down and ended him.
