I’ll get Willow alone again. Make her crave me the way I crave her. She’s almost there.
Then I will push Carson until he snaps. Make him hate how much he wants this. Toy with him.
By the time I’m finished with them, they won’t know where I end and they begin. I’m going to have all of them.
A slow exhale leaves my lips, my pulse steady, my resolve unshaken.
CHAPTER 26
Willow
I glare at Graham,lounging in my armchair as though he hasn’t just taken my damn phone and ensured I’m trapped inside my own apartment.
Carson paces the room, a caged animal, his sharp movements restless, muscles coiled tight. Every time he cuts past me, heat rolls off him in waves.
He’s pissed. That makes two of us.
Hunter sits on the edge of the couch, deceptively calm, but I know better. His broad shoulders are tense, his fingers curled against his knees like he’s one breath away from launching to his feet at the first sign of trouble.
And my dad was worried about Finn? I snort at the thought. Apparently, his bodyguards are the ones I should be concerned about. Because they just kidnapped me.
For my protection, obviously.
“You can’t just lock me in here and take my phone like I’m some fucking bird in a cage,” I snap, crossing my arms.
Graham doesn’t even flinch. Doesn’t so much as look up. He just leans back further in my chair, stretching his long legsout, every inch of him radiating patience—as though he has all the time in the world to wait me out.
Carson stops pacing long enough to scoff. “Peaches, we absolutely can.”
Hunter lifts his chin, his voice calm. “We can. And we will. Until you come to your senses, princess.”
My pulse spikes.
I don’t like the way that sounds, both threat and promise in the same breath.
Graham finally meets my gaze, his gray eyes icy with finality. “Finn is dangerous. He’s unhinged. And we don’t need you seeking him out. Or calling your dad and convincing him you don’t need our protection. He paid us to do a job, and we never fail.”
The way he says it makes my stomach flip. Because part of me wants it to be about more than doing a job. It wants all of this to mean they’re staking their claim. That they don’t want anyone else close because they want me.
“My dad paid you to keep me safe. I’m safe with Finn. He hasn’t hurt me.”
Why am I arguing with them to see the guy who is so obviously stalking me?
God, I must be more fucked up than I thought.
A muscle ticks in Graham’s jaw. “You don’t even believe that. And you’re missing a part of that sentence, he hired us to keep you safe from Finn, who hasn’t hurt you yet.”
I don’t answer.
Instead, I pivot and stalk toward the hallway. “I’m going to bed since I obviously can’t talk sense into you.”
Graham is on my heels immediately.
I spin around just inside the bathroom, my heart hammering. “Seriously?”
He leans against the doorframe casually, blocking my only exit.
“You think we’re letting you out of our sight tonight?” he asks, just above a whisper. “After you just admitted you’re more fucked up than any of us thought? No, Willow, we will be within touching distance.”
