Daniel pulled me to my feet. He stood too close, but I realized it was because he wanted to speak to me without anyone overhearing.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I murmured.
His hand squeezed mine gently. “Why did you come into the room? I told you to wait out here?”
“Technically, I was out here. I was just visible through the door that you left open.”
He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Dax approached us, his heavy footsteps announcing his presence.
“Need to watch your back, Ayres,” he rumbled. “Leo has it out for you.”
Daniel shrugged. “I know. I haven’t handled this before now because I know it will break Leona’s heart.”
Leo and Leona? Jeez, no wonder the man was fucked up.
“She’ll be just as heartbroken if he kills you and Kent tears him limb from limb.”
Damn, these people were bloodthirsty and vicious.
“Why didn’t you call Kent about this instead of me?” Daniel asked.
“Because Kent wouldn’t have given him a warning. He would have broken his neck and been done with it. They’re both shifters and you know Kent’s the alpha. He wouldn’t tolerate the disrespect.”
Daniel sighed. “I think you’re underestimating Kent’s self-control. Next time, call him.”
“Sure, sure,” Dax said.
Judging by the expression on Dax’s face, I was certain that he was lying through his teeth.
Daniel seemed to understand that, too.
“If that’s all, I’m going to back to work,” Daniel said.
He put a hand in the small of my back and guided me off the porch, back toward where we’d parked the car.
We didn’t speak again as he opened the passenger door for me and helped me inside. It wasn’t until we were on our way back to town that he spoke.
“Next time, stay where I tell you to,” he said. “If I hadn’t been fast enough, Leo would have eaten your face off.”
I swallowed hard at the imagery his words conjured in my mind. “There won’t be a next time. As soon as Bernie’s back and I’ve forgotten about this place, I won’t be returning.”
Silence remained between us for a long moment. Though Daniel’s face didn’t even twitch, I sensed a rising tension in him.
“If you’ve forgotten everything about this place, how can you be sure you won’t come back?” he asked.
“Because you’ll plant that suggestion in my brain when you wipe my memory,” I retorted. “I’m sure you can do that, right?”
“Right,” he murmured.
We didn’t speak again the rest of the way back to his office. After the surge of fear and adrenaline I experienced when Leo charged me, I was tired. While I’d fully intended to make Daniel’s life difficult today, I just didn’t have the energy.
I followed him back to his office without prompting and collapsed on his couch. A throw was draped over the back, so I grabbed it and rolled myself up in it.
Within a few minutes, I was out.
6
