“Maybe not. But if Sable keeps going out on her own”—my father turns his eyes to me—“shecould end up getting hurt.”
Their words stab my gut. I hear Sable’s in my mind, fierce like a lightning strike.
“I don’t need your protection.”
“Well, not if we have anything to say about it,” Valeria replies, turning her eyes to me. “Isn’t that right?”
“What she does is up to her,” I growl, rising from my seat. I flex my knuckles, focusing on the pain as I stride from the room.
But before I can get down the hall to my room, I hear my father behind me.
“She’ll get herself killed, Ryker.”
My legs stop on their own, and I stand frozen in my tracks. My chest trembles as I search for a single solid breath. Finally, I’m able to turn to face him.
“And you wantmeto handle her?” I snap. “She already told me to back off. And her mom—”
“This isn’t about what I want,” he says, his voice low. He reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder. “This is about whatyouwant.”
He stares at me for a long, difficult moment. Finally, I nod slowly.
“Fine. I’ll handle her.”
“Good.”
He turns and walks away, leaving me tense like a coiled spring ready to burst.
I head down the hall to her room. I’m just about to knock when I see Kane coming in from out back.
“What are you knocking for?” He smirks.
I glare back at him,thisclose to being fed up with his shit. “Kane—”
“You can’t half-claim a woman like her, Ryker,” he whispers, slowing as he passes me. “Either you claim her or she owns you.”
Something builds in my chest—something dangerous. I lose it completely and simply barge into her room, nearly knocking the door off its hinges.
Sable yelps and whirls on me as I enter, pulling a gun from her stocking. When she sees its me, she lowers the barrel.
“You trying to get shot?” she asks, turning back to the gear laid out on her bed.
I see a backup pistol, several full magazines, and even some flash bang grenades.
“Out for another battle?” I ask.
She chuckles, almost like my interest amuses her. “Relax, Romeo. This isn’t the part where you and I adopt a black Lab together.”
“I told you that things like this gothrough me,goddamn it!”
She lunges forward, gnashing her teeth right up in my face. “And I told you that you don’t get to control me!”
My blood goes cold, reacting to her aggression. I want to act. But this is Sable we’re talking about, so I take a step back.
If she dies, I’ll lose everything.
I turn and storm from her room. Avoiding all the guys, I go out back to my sleeper car—an all-black sedan specifically designed to draw the least amount of attention—and hop in.
My .45 is in the glove box where I left it. I pull out and park just down the road on the side of the street and wait.
