Page 58 of Protect Me
Irritation along with cooling lust flushes my skin with warmth as the guys follow me upstairs. I expect them to take me to my apartment, but instead, they usher me into theirs and lock the door.
Bracken stands with his back to it, leaning against the frame. His greenish-brown gaze is trained on me as he crosses both muscled arms. Duncan and Killian move farther into the room, though, standing on either side of me—a triangle trapping me at the epicenter.
None of them speaks, and their silence pisses me off. “Who’s planning on starting?” I demand, looking pointedly at each of them.
Killian clears his throat and runs an inked hand over the back of his neck. “Dunc, you decided to open this can of worms.”
Duncan glares at him in silence.
“Duncan?” I prompt.
“Fucking ass,” he snarls at Killian before shifting his gaze to mine. “There have been—incidents.”
“Incidents,” I repeat warily.
“Involving your fiancé and those he’s hired to hunt you.”
My heart skips at his words. I’d expected nothing less from that monster, but hearing it out loud, from Duncan no less, throws me off balance. “Ex-fiancé,” I correct, unsure why the hell it matters to do so. “And what do you mean incidents? More than what you’ve already told me? What happened?”
“We caught a hunter in the woods right after you arrived,” Duncan admits quietly.
“I see,” I say, reading between the lines. “Did you... question him?”
“He declined to answer,” Duncan says, and something about the politeness of his explanation makes it all more sinister.
“What else?” I demand.
Duncan frowns, but he goes on. “A few days after that, three more hunters showed up on our doorstep, asking if we’d seen you.”
“You already told me about them.” I cross my arms.
“More hunters showed up again tonight,” Bracken says.
I whirl on him. “At the carnival?”
“At your show,” Killian finishes. “They saw you perform.”
“I don’t understand. Isaac was supposed to cloak me, right?”
“We’re not sure how they knew,” he says, eyes flashing. “Maybe it was a lucky fucking break. But now they’ve seen you.”
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Panic claws at my chest, though. It tears me apart from the inside out. “Did you catch them?”
“Only one,” Bracken replies. It’s then I notice a bit of dried blood on the side of his throat. I rush over and reach up to touch it.
“They hurt you.”
“Just a scratch.” He grabs my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “Already healed. Honestly, I’d forgotten it was there.”
Stepping back, I let my mind race over what needs to happen next. I’d always known staying in one place was dangerous—but I’d hoped Robert would be long gone by now. Returned home with the others who’d been visiting the embassy the night I managed to get out.
My stomach churns. I’d foolishly believed Robert would only try to hurt me. I never imagined my running would put others in the line of fire. It’s something that I clearly misjudged, and seeing Bracken’s injury, however small, makes me feel guilty. “I need to leave. Now.” I start toward the door, but Bracken refuses to move. “You don’t understand. I have to go. He can’t find me.”
“We will protect you,” Bracken says.
“It’s too much of a risk. If he knows I’m here, I need to leave.”
“You’re not going any-damn-where,” Killian growls. “So, get that out of your fucking mind right now, Sway.”