“What about breaking down the door?”
“I carved that door out of oak,” Ruger snarls. “It’s practically bullet proof and we’re not ripping it down because of a woman’s unwillingness to marry you.”
“Sorry I asked,” I grumble. “Let me talk to her.”
Can’t say it will work, but I don’t have much of a choice but totrytalking sense into Janelle. Promising her the world. Promising her Rana. Promising her that I will always fight for her –always.
“Go ahead,” Ruger grumbles. “She insulted my looks worse than Zayna ever has.”
“Can Zayna get her out?”
“She says she’s protecting her peace and this is our fault,” Ruger says. “Whatever the fuck that means.”
It means we’re on our own. I follow Ruger to the hand-hewn door and knock gently on it.
“Janelle. It’s me.”
At first, there’s no sound and I worry that she drowned herself or fell asleep or something. I might have to face Ruger’s consequences for me and rip that damned door down… But then I hear shuffling. A voice follows.
“Zeb.”
“Yes, angel. It’s me.”
Her voice does something to me. I touch the door and imagine her hand pressed to the other side.
“I didn’t bring Rana. Thought it might be better to let her sleep after the night she’s had.”
“She’s not answering my texts.”
“I promise, she’s fine. Angel… I promise.”
I try the handle gently, hoping to keep her calm on the other side.
“Are you ready to come out?” I say. “I want to see you.”
Even if she thinks it’s just a trap – it’s not. I’m desperate to see her. Desperate enough to risk getting slaughtered by Ruger Blackwood where I stand for breaking his door just to get to her. My hand quietly searches for the weak points while I wait for Janelle’s response.
“No,” she says. “I… They’re going to force us to get married, Zeb.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Janelle
He knew that, didn’t he? My heart pounds as Zeb’s silence is conspicuous on the other side of the door. I can’t believe this. Ican’tmarry Zeb. I don’t know him. He doesn’t love me. We haven’t been through any ups and downs together. We only had sexonceand we’re not Instagram official. But I have my hand pressed to the door, even with this hesitation.Why am I even entertaining this?
“I want to marry you,” Zeb says. “I love you, Janelle.”
His voice sounds so deep and sexy that I want to fling the door open and just trust him. But…
“I’ve heard that before, Zeb. What happens when you get tired or tempted by somebody else? What happens when I do something you don’t like?”
“Janelle, I need you to listen,” he says. “Okay, angel?”
Fuck, that voice. I wish that I had better control over myself. Because his voice gets me instantly wet. I don’t feel like I have a choice but to listen to him. My body responds without me.
“I will never leave you,” he says. “I know what you’ve been through. And if it makes you feel better, I will take care of the man who hurt you. I will make sure nobody ever hurts you again, and I will love you until the end of my life. I promise, Janelle.”
I still can’t open the door. I want to believe him, and maybe a part of me does, but if I open the door, I’ll be walking into a new life that I’m not ready for in the slightest.
