“I always knew you were impulsive and reckless,” Alastair bit out. “But I had no idea you were so eager to start another war when you just finished one.”
“Doesn’t have to be a war. I’ve known Dahlia for years. We met the night Bounds and his anchor killed Julius. That makes my claim older than yours. Acknowledge it and we can come to an agreement.”
“Whatever claim you might’ve had became moot the instant my blood took. She’s a Bowan. She needs to be with Bowans, not with the wild animals you call family.”
His blood pressure rose. “So you can sell her off to the highest bidder? That’s why you met with Yvanna, isn’t it? She wanted your grandnephew to be her groom.”
“And I’ll tell you the same thing I told your aunt: I don’t sell my family. And I certainly wouldn’t sell them toyou.No daughter of mine is joining a family who kills each other for fun. You can’t care for her. You’re incapable of it.”
The insult hit its mark. Felix sat up in his chair, the phone’s weak metal body creaking under his brutal grip. “Listen here, fucker?—”
There was no respectful knock on his door. It swung open and hit the wall with a bang, rattling art and photographs.
Felix swiveled his chair around to face the doorway. Milo was already on his feet, one hand straying to the gun on his hip, andhe could just make out the top of Marietta’s hair, but all he really noticed was Dahlia.
His focus honed in on her with laser-like precision, blocking out everything besides the figure she cut in the doorway. Dressed in a mid-length dress of shiny, clingy material and black stilettos, with her hair damp and her cheeks flushed, she looked like she’d just stepped out of one of his fantasies. Especially when her nipples tightened beneath the draped neckline of the dress.
A raw pulse of hunger nearly distracted him from the way she stormed across the office, her expression a mask of outrage. She didn’t even spare a glance for Milo who watched her with a bemused sort of fascination.
“You’re going to tell me right here, right now, that I can leave,” she announced.
Felix frowned. “We discussed this. You aren’t?—”
Alastair’s voice snapped through the phone’s speaker. “Is that Dahlia?”
“Of course it’s fucking Dahlia,” he growled.
She narrowed her eyes. “Who is that?”
Felix pinched his nose and sighed, “It’s Alastair Bowan.”
Nearly simultaneously, Dahlia held out her hand for the phone and Alastair demanded, “Put her on, boy.”
“I am not putting her on,” he replied, glaring at Dahlia’s outstretched hand. “You don’t need to talk to her. She’s fine.”
“I’ll hear that from her own damn mouth or I’ll burn that gaudy mansion down tonight, whelp.”
“Keep threatening me, prick. See what— Damn it, Dahlia!”
Felix lunged across the desk, trying to snatch the phone back, but she was faster. Dahlia stood a few feet away from the desk, ignoring Milo and Marietta who watched everything unfold like it was the championship round of the UTA shifter games.
Pressing the phone to her ear, she propped a hand on her hip and said, “Hello?”
“Dahlia,” he snarled, pushing up from his chair. He flattened his palms on the mahogany desktop between them. “Give me the phone.”
She eyed him with open disdain. He could just make out the sound of Alastair’s voice coming through the speaker, but not what he said.
“Uh-huh. That’s what I was told. And I can’t imagine it would’ve happened any other way.” There was a pause. She held his glare as Alastair said something else. “No offense, Mr. Bowan, but that really doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Felix’s heart raced. There was no real threat, but his instincts screamed at the thought of her talking to someone who wanted to take her away from him. All he wanted to do was grab the phone and smash it, ending the conversation.
Gathering the flimsy threads of his control, he ordered, “Speakerphone. Now.”
She didn’t obey right away. Frankly, he was surprised she listened at all. Maybe she saw how close he was to ending the call completely. Whatever the reason, Dahlia lowered the phone and tapped the screen.
Placing it on the desk, she said, “You’re on speaker, Mr. Bowan.”
All business now, Alastair asked, “Have you been harmed?”
