I let her comment linger, wondering if she’d come to the same conclusion I had.
She did. Smart woman.
“Oh my God.”
I didn’t say anything, wanting to hear it from her own mouth. Honestly, a part of me hoped she’d have a different conclusion, a different opinion. But I knew in my gut, there was only one. And it unnerved the hell out of me.
“The inside of my house was vandalized. My dogs would have attacked anyone who stepped foot past my front door.” She gasped, looking back at the house, then to me, her eyesround with fear. “Jagg. At least one of my dogs knew whoever did this.”
I looked at her, that knife in my gut twisting deeper.
“It’s time to talk about your attack in Dallas, Sunny. It’s time to tell me about your ex-boyfriend.”
“Why?”
“Because Kenzo Rees was just released from prison.”
34
JAGG
The blood drained from Sunny’s face.
She hadn’t known. That much was clear.
Her eyes locked on mine, wide with horror, and then her body started to tremble. Not subtly—fully. Visibly. Fear rippled through her, and I felt every beat of it like it was my own.
“Nothing is going to happen to you,” I said, grabbing her shoulders, forcing her to face me. “You’ve got me now. I won’t let anyone hurt you again. Do you understand?Nothing is going to happen to you.”
She stared at me, stunned—frozen. Like her brain was trying to process a world that had just tilted under her feet.
“When?” she whispered.
“Eight days ago,” I said quietly.
Her jaw dropped. Her silence screamed the truth: She knew. She knew this wasn’t coincidence. That Kenzo Rees had likely destroyed her home. Had been there. Maybehadn’t left.
My grip on her tightened. “He won’t hurt you again, Sunny.” I pulled her against me. “Not on my watch.”
She collapsed into me, her body folding into mine like it belonged there. I held her close, the scent of her coconut shampoo grounding me in the moment, tethering me to one truth:She was mine to protect now.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead and looked up at her vandalized house—graffiti, shattered glass, slashed screens. The rage that had been simmering inside me exploded into wildfire.
Kenzo Rees.
Blue and red lights cut through the trees, tires crunching gravel. A beat later, the dogs growled in unison—low, lethal, ready.
So was I.
“Stay.”Sunny ordered the dogs as she pushed out of my arms.
I looked at my watch. It had been exactly six minutes since I’d called dispatch.
“Go straight to my Jeep and take the dogs. Don’t move, don’t go anywhere. Let me handle this.”
Sunny nodded, gripping the leashes, her face still white as a sheet.
I cupped her cheeks. “Letmehandle this. This ismyjob.”
