"I have to go," I tell her, embracing her quickly. "I'll be back soon, I promise."
"Mmm-hmm." She eyes Ethan appraisingly. "Take your time, girl..."
I feel heat rush to my cheeks.
"Good-looking but wound too tight," she observes. "Needs someone to help him loosen up." She winks, patting my arm. "Go on now. Don't keep your man waiting."
I say my farewells to the others, promising to return with prints of today's photos. All the while, I feel Ethan's presence behind me, silent and radiating disapproval.
When I finally turn back to him, his expression is carefully neutral, but his eyes blaze with contained fury. He gestures toward the street where his car is parked, illegally, in a loading zone.
"Let me explain," I begin as we walk.
"Save it," he says tersely. "We'll talk when we're somewhere secure."
We reach the car in silence. He opens the passenger door, waiting for me to get in. When I hesitate, still trying to formulate an explanation that doesn't sound juvenile or selfish, his patience snaps.
"Get in the car, Jade!" The command cracks between us, his voice raised for the first time since I've known him.
I freeze.
His tone has dropped to something dangerous. Something final. The world shrinks to the space between us.
We stare at each other. A battle of wills waiting to explode.
26
ETHAN
The drive from downtown is silent, the kind of silence that has weight and substance. I don't trust myself to speak. Every time I open my mouth, I'm afraid of what might come out.
Rage. Fear. Desire.
My hands grip the steering wheel until my knuckles go white. In my peripheral vision, I can see Jade shift in her seat, opening her mouth several times to speak before thinking better of it. Good. Because right now, I don't want to hear excuses or explanations.
All I can see is the moment my phone alert went off at 4:33 AM. The security system notification showing the garden gate opening. The camera footage of a hooded female figure slipping through the shadows.
My first thought wasn't professional. It wasn't about protocols or security breaches. It was jealousy, raw and primitive. Was she meeting someone? Was she involvedwith someone while I have spent weeks wanting her, needing her, while knowing she was forbidden?
I shake my head slightly, trying to dislodge the memory of how quickly I'd pulled on clothes, grabbed my keys, and followed her. How I'd tracked her Uber downtown, keeping enough distance that she wouldn't spot my car.
We enter the house in the same charged silence that filled the car. The moment the door closes behind us, she whirls to face me.
"Ethan, I can explain..."
"Can you?" The words come out like ice shards. "Can you explain why you deliberately put yourself at risk? Why you snuck out like a teenager after everything that's happened? Need I remind you that you agreed to no unnecessary and, may I add, no unauthorized outings?"
Her eyes flash. "The stalker's been caught. The danger is over."
"Is it?" I step closer. "Have you stopped being Jade Sinclair? You're still the same woman whose name and face are known around the globe. You still attract obsession. Attention. Danger. Do you really think you are safe out there on your own?"
"Nobody recognized me. I made sure of it. And... what were you doing there?"
"Are you freaking kidding me right now? That's your concern? Not outside danger, but me following you?" I pull out my phone, showing her the security appwith its notifications. "The moment you stepped out of this house, I knew. Every exit is monitored. Every movement is tracked."
She blinks, surprise registering on her face before hardening into defiance. "So you've been spying on me? In my own home?"
"It's called doing my job," I snap. "The job you hired us for, remember? To keep you safe?"
