Anyone else, any other person in the world, would have flinched. Hell, even Viper jumped at the noise, startled out of whatever fantasy he was lost in. Sebastian just looks slowly from my desk to my face, raising a single eyebrow.
“Keep an eye on her,” I demand. “Christ, I shouldn’t even have to ask this of you. Watch her, Sebastian. That’s a fucking order.”
There’s a flash of anger in his blue eyes, invisible to anyone who doesn’t know to look for it.
“And if I refuse?” he asks quietly.
This fucking asshole. This is when he decides to question me?
“Are you?” I ask in a deadly voice. “Are you refusing?”
That muscle in his eye twitches again.
“She asked for space,” Sebastian repeats. “And you are asking me to violate that. After I already vio—” He stops. Takes a breath. “I’m respecting her decision by not reaching out, notstalkingher. Unlike some of us, I have that self-control.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Ashton asks, voice sharp.
“Itmeansthat you are pathologically incapable of leaving her alone,” he sneers. “Where were you today, huh? While Viper and I were downstairs working?Does Sterling even know that when we were dismembering the man helping to potentiallyhurther, you wereat her place of work?”
Ashton’s jaw drops open in shock.
“The fact that you’re surprised that I know that speaks volumes since you know you have a tracker on your phone,” Sebastian continues, shaking his head.“You might be pretty, but goddamn you’re so thick-skulled it’s an embarrassment to our entire ancestral line.”
Fury radiates from every muscle in Ashton’s body as his fists clench.
“And how many gifts have you sent her?” Sebastian asks mockingly. “I have access to your personal accounts, don’t ever forget that. I know down to the fucking penny how much you’ve spent on flowers.”
“I sent a few roses.” Ashton scoffs. “Big fucking deal.”
“Two thousand eight hundred dollars’ worth of fucking gifts,” Sebastian counters. “Just in the last week.”
“Who cares!” Ashton throws up his hands. “It’s a drop in the bucket, anyway. It’s not like we don’t have the money!”
“They’re not even her favorite flower, did you know that?” Sebastian asks, raising an eyebrow at his brother. “She likes orchids.”
“She likes roses,” Ashton growls.
“How would you even know what she likes?” Sebastian counters. “You never bothered to get to know her.”
He’s pushing Ashton too far, and he knows it. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had to break up a fight between the two of them. I brace myself, ready to intervene.
Sebastian takes a breath and runs a hand through his hair. “Look, I know this is difficult for all of us,” he says, choosing his words carefully and turning back to address me.
“You don’t know shit,” Ashton snaps. “You aren’t dating her, are you? You had one fucking moment with her. That’s it. And remind us, how did that fucking end?”
Sebastian’s jaw clenches.
“Don’t think we’ve forgotten that you’re the whole reason we’re in this mess,” Ashton continues. “You andpsychoover there. You scared her, both of you.”
Viper looks up as Ashton gestures toward him.
“She was scared, boss,” he agrees. “So fucking scared.”
“And at leastwe’rerespecting her wishes,” Sebastian argues, gesturing between all three of us. “We’re letting her set the pace, giving her time to decide what she wants.”
“What she wants,” Ashton sneers. “And you were so concerned with what she wants before, huh? This is all your fault!”
“You think I don’t fucking know that?” Sebastian hisses.
