Shit. I’m on my own. And if I fail? Sloane will pay the price.
* * *
Sloane
“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but if I’d waited until now, the closest help would still be eight hours away,” Marina says as she drags me to the cream-colored couch facing the balcony. “Sit. I’m going to turn on the kettle for more hot water. You’ve had a day.”
“You can say that again.” My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out and peer at the screen.
Unknown Number:You were warned, Sophiana. His death is on you.
There’s a photo of Max with the text, and there’s so much blood, all I see is crimson—and his open, vacant eyes.
Oh, God. A sob sticks in my throat, and Marina takes one look at me, runs to my bedroom door, and starts pounding on it.
I can’t form the words to tell her to stop. That man? Griff? He can’t fix this, and if he tries, he’s going to end up just like Max.
“What?” Griff says sharply. I don’t hear Marina’s reply, but it doesn’t matter, because he’s in front of me in only a couple of seconds, holding out his hand. “Phone.”
“You know, barking orders isn’t the best way to endear yourself to me,” I choke out. “Neither is lying.”
With a sigh, he sits next to me, takes off his glasses, and gently touches my jaw to get me to look at him. The intensity and pain in his blue eyes shock me. “Sloane, I didn’t lie. Exactly. I didn’t intend to disturb you at the bar. I was going to keep my distance, but you were upset and,” he shrugs, “I couldn’t just sit there.”
“And at the party?”
“Standard surveillance.” Griff rubs his right hand up and down his thigh, his left still tucked in his pocket. “Can I see your phone? Please?”
Tapping in the unlock code, I pass him the device, and he swears under his breath. “Fuck.” Forwarding the message to a number in the States—Boston, I think—he adds a message.
“Find out who sent Sloane this message and put a trace on the number - Griff”
“Who did you just send that to?” I ask, staring at my fingers—which are tapping on my thighs so fast they’re practically a blur before looking back up at him—and he shakes his head. Anger swallows my fear, and I give him a hard stare. “No? You won’t tell me?”
Dropping the phone next to me, he sighs, the kind of deep, whole body sigh that hints at a lifetime of weariness. “Sloane, I can’t hear. Much, anyway. If I’m not wearing my glasses, you have to look right at me if you expect me to read your lips.”
“You’re deaf?” I shoot Marina a glance. “Your cousin sent a deaf mercenary to protect me?”
“That’s not all,” Griff says, an edge to his tone. His shoulders slump unevenly until he grits his teeth and straightens.
“Oh, great. You can’t be blind too. So what is it?” I know I’m not being rational. Or sensitive. Or even a halfway decent person. But I’m still too raw, too terrified to be myself.
Griff pulls his left hand from his pocket and rests it on his thigh. His fingers open and close slowly, and I stare until I figure out what’sdifferent.The words tumble free before I remember to turn to him, but I catch myself and start over.
“You have a prosthetic hand.”
“Arm.” He knocks on his elbow joint, and it’s decidedlynotflesh and bone. “Mid-humerus amputation. Eight months ago. Same time I lost most of my hearing.”
The change in his voice from earlier? It’s like he’s a totally different person. One who expects me to yell or cry or tell him to get his broken self out of my room.
“Sloane?” Marina asks, then clears her throat and jerks her head to indicate I should follow her into my bedroom. “Can I have a minute?”
It’s obvious Griff didn’t hear her, so I meet his gaze. “Marina wants a minute. Don’t…leave?”
He huffs what might be a laugh. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for at least the next twenty-four hours. Go talk about me. I’m used to it. But donotgo out on the balcony or open the drapes and stay away from the windows whenever you can.”
The idea that someone would try to hurt methroughthe french doors makes me shudder, but I follow Marina into my bedroom. “I don’t think you need to shut the door,” I offer.
“Oh, he can eavesdrop if he wants,” Marina says. “Those glasses? Clive told me they were cutting edge tech.”
