Page 114 of Protect Me

“You said D wanted to see me,” I say, my voice wobbling.

Duncan’s eyes flash with a heat that prickles my skin, but he doesn’t say a word.

“He does,” Killian says carefully, still eyeing my bag. “You have plans after?”

I swallow hard, trying to formulate the words, when someone knocks on the door.

Killian scowls but strides over to pull it open.

The Ringmaster stands in the doorway, and I stiffen as he looks right at me and says, “I need a word with you.”

“Not sure now’s the best time, D,” Killian begins.

“Now’s fine,” I say quickly, stepping forward.

Killian looks ready to argue, so I drop my bag to the floor and say, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

He doesn’t look happy, but he doesn’t argue when I step around him and follow the Ringmaster out into the hall.

The moment the door shuts behind us, I plant my feet and ready myself for battle.

“Come with me,” he says, throwing me off by turning and striding down the hall.

I hesitate and then hurry to catch up, my heart thudding as I try to keep control of the conversation. We head into the stairwell where I’m forced to slow my pace, thanks to my injured hip.

“Look,” I say as we walk, “I know I’ve outstayed my welcome these last couple of days. My contract ended, and I’m done here.”

“This way,” he says, ignoring me and exiting the stairwell. He leads us across the Big Top to his office there.

Realizing he's taking me all the way to his office makes my nerves rattle harder. I have no idea why he’d bother bringing me all the way back here if he wants to throw me out. The exit is behind us.

I try again with a graceful exit speech. “So, yeah, I appreciate the hospitality, and I’m happy to send along any payment you require for it once I find my next position and get settled somewhere--”

“She’s inside.” He pushes open the door and ushers me through it.

“Who?”

“Liv.”

I step inside to see Liv seated in a chair. Déjà vu hits me. It's the same chair she sat in the night I arrived when she pleaded with the Ringmaster to let me stay. She’d smiled at me that night; a genuine, friendly gesture I still hold dear as it was the first one I’d experienced in years.

Now, her smile is forced and tight. There are dark circles underneath her eyes, and there’s a tension in the set of her brow I’ve never seen before.

“Liv? Is everything okay?”

She sighs, and her gaze flicks past me to the Ringmaster. “I’m fine. D insists on making everything a major ordeal.”

“You’re not fine,” he says firmly. And then to me, “Can you help her?”

“I don’t understand.” I look from him to her. A quick skim of her body reveals no obvious injuries. Besides, even if she was injured somehow, that would be Adaya’s area of expertise, not mine. “What’s wrong, exactly?”

Liv sighs. “I feel … off. Emotionally. It started after the baby came.”

I sit down in the chair across from her, concern distracting me from my earlier anxieties about coming here.

“What started?” I ask.

“Frustration. Disinterest. Exhaustion,” she admits. “It’s like nothing I’ve felt before.” She stares down at her clasped hands. “I don’t even know who I’m mad at. Or why.”