"Shut up," I said.
He didn't.
"You don't understand the pressure I'm under. The board, the donors, they're all breathing down my neck. If I don't deliver something concrete, we lose everything. The whole operation goes under. Do you know how many journalists depend on?—"
"I said shut up."
My voice came out flat. Cold. The kind of tone that made men in combat zones go quiet real fast.
Derek's mouth snapped shut.
I gestured toward the door of Amelia's room. "Step inside."
He hesitated, eyes darting between me and the hallway like he was calculating whether he could make it to the elevator.
He couldn't.
"Now," I said.
He went.
Amelia and I moved aside to let him pass. As soon as he crossed the threshold, I leaned close to her, keeping my voice low.
"Go down to the lobby. And stay there," I said. "Call Dominion Hall. Tell them to bring a big duffel bag. They'll know why."
Her eyes widened. "I want to stay with you."
"No," I said, more emphatic than I intended. "You don't need to see what happens next."
I searched her eyes, waiting for her to ask me not to do this. Waiting for her to tell me to be the better man, to let it go, to call the cops or handle it some other civilized way.
But her gaze flicked to Derek, standing in the middle of her hotel room like a man who'd just realized he'd walked into the wrong cage at the zoo.
"Do what you need to do," she said quietly.
Then she turned and walked to the elevator.
I watched her go, something warm and vicious coiling in my chest.
Then I stepped into the room, closed the door, and locked it. Deadbolt. Latch. All of it.
Derek turned at the sound.
I pointed a finger at him. "Did your father ever tell you not to put your hands on a woman?"
He sputtered. "I—I didn't mean?—"
I was on him before he could finish.
A knee to the gut doubled him over. An open-handed smack across the face sent him sprawling to the floor.
He hit the carpet hard, gasping.
I stared down at him. "That was an open hand," I said. "The next one's going to be a fist."
He tried to crawl backward, hands scrabbling at the carpet. "Someone will hear," he stammered. "The cops?—"
I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground with one hand.
