Whisper scratched at my trousers, trying to remind me to stay calm. Crossing my arms, I glowered at Rook, but she refused to look at me.
“Yeah, about that,” she said. “There’s quite a lot to explain and we’re really kinda pressed for time—”
“I don’t care. I’m coming to get you right now. You’re coming home with me and I’m never letting you out of my—”
“She’s not going anywhere with you,” I spat, shutting the bastard up. “She belongs to me now.”
“Oh no.” Rook groaned. “Now you’ve done it.”
The phone went silent for less than a second before an icy snarl hissed, “Listen here, whoever the fuck you are—”
Rook rushed to turn down the volume, throwing a worried look at the door.
“—she doesn’t belong to anyone, got it? She’s worth far more than you can imagine and youwilllet her go. What did you do to her? Where have you been keeping her? Rook?” He paused for a moment. “Rook...are you safe?” His tone turned squirrelly and sly. “Have you eaten today or are you fasting?”
I scowled at the odd question, but Rook just shook her head and spoke to me. “It’s code to see if I’m in a hostage situation.”
“You. Shut it,” the man growled.
She never looked away from me, keeping my heat at bay through eye contact alone. “If you’d kidnapped me, I would say I’m fasting but because you didn’t, I’ll say...I’ve eaten.” Looking at the phone, she repeated. “I’ve eaten, Dil, alright?”
His heavy exhale echoed in the room, his anger taming just a little. “Thank the old gods for that.”
Rook gave me a gentle smile. “That just means I’m safe and he doesn’t need to worry.”
“Oh, I worry,” the man grumbled. “You’ve given me an ulcer with how much I worry.”
I reached my limit.
The fact that this man cared for her. That heworriedabout her. That he thought he could snatch her from me and take her far away. Stepping toward Rook, I towered over her on the bed and bared my teeth at the phone. “I’ve already told you. You’re not taking her anywhere.”
“Listen here—”
“No,youfucking listen.” I bent over and planted my fists on either side of Rook’s thighs. Our noses almost touched. Her beautiful dark eyes widened at how possessively I crowded her but the longer I was so close, the more she affected me.
The gentlest current of cold.
The coolest feathering of ice.
My temperature dropped a fraction, and I no longer felt like I could rip him into pieces with my bare hands. “I won’t kill you on the account of your past with Rook but...if you try to take her away from me, I will not fucking hesitate.”
“He won’t.” Rook tried to appease me. “He’s my bodyguard, not my jailer. Dil. Tell him. Tell him who you are.”
“I’m your worst nightmare if you’ve hurt her,” the asshole hissed.
“Not helping.” Rook rolled her eyes. “That’s an order. Tell him who you are.”
“Fine.” The bastard sniffed. “My name is Dillon Brooks. I’m assigned solely for Miss Snowdon’s protection. However, she’s not always accommodating of this fact and makes it her life mission to keep me on an endless goose chase. I’m also tracking her phone this very moment. The moment she turned it back on again, I got an alert and I’m on my way—”
“How committed are you to ensuring her safety?” I cut in, pushing off the bed and standing over Rook.
Dillon answered immediately. “Extremely.”
“Would you kill to protect her?”
“I’m the type of person who acts first and questions a corpse later.”
“Good.” I smiled tightly, my heart burning with fresh heat just being this far from my antidote. “Come find her then. You have a couple of hours at the most. You better hurry.”
