Page 34 of Protect Me
“And you expect us to have seen her?” I glance down at his hand, looking for a house ring and really fucking hoping he doesn’t have one. If he doesn’t, then there’s no protection for him. No war that could take place when I inevitably rip his spine out through his fucking throat.
Unfortunately, I see it—an emerald encased in silver—the stone glinting green in the sunlight above. House of Earth and Emerald.Son of a bitch.
House of Earth and Emerald isn’t as uptight as some of the others, but they’ll still lose their shit if we outright kill one of their own for simply walking onto our grounds.
“Your boss has a reputation for keeping people against their will,” he says, and my muscles flex with the need to smash this guy straight into the fucking ground.
“You come onto our property and accuse our boss of kidnapping?” Bracken looks from him to me and Duncan, then back to him again. “You must have balls of fucking steel between your legs.”
The asshole grins. “Your boss’s reputation is one I imagine is well-earned.”
Duncan snarls at that. “We don’t abduct people,” he retorts. “We take in the houseless and give them somewhere safe.”
“The girl I’m looking for isn’t houseless,” he says. “She went missing, and I’m trying to return her home. People are worried about her.”
“What people?” I ask, crossing my arms.
“Her fiancé and his family,” he replies smoothly.
The blood in my veins ices, and every muscle in my body goes rigid.
“Easy, brothers,”Duncan says through our bond. It snaps me back enough to notice that Bracken has clenched his hands into fists. “We haven’t seen her. So, get the fuck off our property before my brothers and I make you leave.”
The man doesn’t look even the least bit threatened. He chuckles and reaches into his jacket pocket, withdrawing a simple white business card with a phone number. “If you see her, give me a call.” As he reaches forward, the sleeve of his jacket comes up, revealing a tattoo that matches the last fucker’s: a dagger with a drop of blood at the point of the blade.
For fuck’s sake.
What the hell could the people she’s running from want with her so badly that they’d nearly beat her to death then send multiple Crimson Hunters after her?
Duncan takes the card, and the three men turn and move away, disappearing back into the trees.
As soon as we’re back in the Big Top, Duncan stops and offers me the card. “Find out what you can make of this.”
“If he’s lying, you mean,” I say.
Duncan sighs. “Just say it.”
“That asshole says she has a fiancé,” I nearly shout.
“Easy.” Duncan glares at me. I know he wants me to calm down, but I’m barely holding it the fuck together right now.
“She’s spoken for,” I say through clenched teeth.
“She was a prisoner,” Bracken corrects.
“Bracken’s right,” Duncan says. “I asked her if she had anyone who would miss her, and she said no. That tells me this fiancé might just be the fucker who hurt her, so chill out, and get ahold of your shit.”
I force myself to take a deep breath and do as he’s asking. He’s right. I need to stop jumping to conclusions. Still… “If her fiancé is the one who hurt her, he deserves so much worse than death,” I say. “No wonder she can’t trust anyone.”
“No wonder she can’t trust men,” Duncan adds, and I frown.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not just a fiancé. It’s all these Crimson Hunter assholes coming for her too,” Duncan points out.
“Yeah, these hunters spell bad news,” Bracken comments.
“We should have just fucking killed them,” I snarl.