The beeping stopped. Neither one said anything.
Looking at him expectantly Everly waited. Zane sighed inannoyance, his face hardening again at the interruption, snatching thewalkie-talkie from his clip he answered the call.
“What?!” He answered brusquely, reminding any and alllistening with his tone alone that he didn’t like to be interrupted during hisbreak.
Looking at her own watch as he spoke, Everly began to cleanup the remainder of her lunch. Stepping up to the counter she began to pour thewater for her usual customary tea she had at the end of lunch every day.Finishing his call, Zane snapped the walkie talkie back onto his clip.
“Hey don’t you dare leave, I know you still have ten minutesleft,” he stood up from the chair, now at his full height he gave her achallenging smirk, daring her to argue. “I’ll be right back.”
“But…” She began to say that she really did need to headback, but he cut her off as he walked to the door turning to give her adevastatingly handsome smile over his shoulder.
“If you leave, I will just find you at your desk,” hethreatened in nearly a sing-song tone, just as he left the room.
Sighing she turned back around and stared at the electrictea kettle in mild annoyance. Zane knew she hated it when he came to her deskto pester her, meaning she had no choice but to wait now. The looks she gotfrom her boss when the tall handsome construction worker was around were highlyunpleasant, not to mention the green-eyed looks she received from her fellowfemale coworkers.
“Hey Everly, you seen Zane around? His boss Todd is lookingfor him.” Turning around to the familiar voice, Everly had to force herself tosmile politely at the young man.
Taylor Lancombe was the bank’s young incompetent securityguard. With a town filled with affluent families and equally rich-spoiled kidsand virtually no real crime, Taylor’s position was more for decoration anderrand running rather than security. The lean sun-tanned kid withunprofessionally long snow-boarder hair was the perfect example of the youth inthe well-to-do ski town. Taylor was the guy who spent his summers down inCalifornia surfing and his winters back home snowboarding and the off-seasonworking a job nepotism surely landed him.
“Yes, he just left,” though she was certain he had to haveseen Zane leave down the long hallway.
“Ah, okay then,” pushing back his long hair in the samepracticed move she had observed him use on the other girls, Taylor steppedfurther inside the small break room.
Without Zane’s large presence in the small break room, itfelt barren and isolated without his dominating aura.
Hearing the ding of the electric tea kettle, letting herknow the water was boiling, Everly turned her back to Taylor hoping he wouldleave. Grabbing her cup with her teabag already in place she began to pour thesteaming liquid.
“Hey let me ask you something,” Everly could hear Taylor’svoice come closer behind her. “I’ve been wondering ever since I heard theyhired a pregnant chick, who is the daddy? Does he live around here?”
The flash of panic immediately caused her hands to shake andthe scalding water to splash against her hand holding the cup. With a painfulcry, she dropped the porcelain cup from her burned hand, shattering into piecesin the metal sink. Holding her burned hand close she tried to fight back thetears from the pain.
“Shit!” Taylor panicked as he came around in front of her.“Why did you…”
“What the fuck!” Zane’s thundering voice from the doorwaystilled both of them, even despite her pain.
Striding towards her in long angry steps he wrapped hisrough fingers around her wrists and forced her hand under the icy water of thefaucet he flipped on with his other hand.
“I don’t know what happened, man, I swear!” Taylor began todefend himself to the obviously enraged superior male in the room. “I wasjust…”
Still holding her red hand under the icy water, Zane shotTaylor the coldest look she had ever seen over his shoulder, shutting thesecurity guard up immediately.
“I heard what the fuck you said,” he snarled through grittedteeth. The large warm hands cupping hers beneath the water tightened aroundhers in anger. “Get the fuck out of my sight Taylor.”
Zane had her corralled and practically enveloped between hislarge muscular arms as he held her to the sink. She couldn’t see Taylor, butshe could hear his footsteps as he obediently began to walk back towards thedoor.
“Oh, and Taylor,” the vibrations from Zane’s chest infusedthemselves to her back, shaking her whole body. “Don’t ever speak to her again,do you understand me?”
The frightening, unspoken threat to his tone made her wantto immediately answer herself for the scared boy.
Nervously Taylor’s stammered a reply. “Yes, I understand.”
The quick retreating steps told her they were alone now.
With her heart pounding and her hand now numb from the icywater Everly tried pulling her hand out of his grasp, but Zane only held hertighter.
“That fucking idiot,” he muttered under his breath as heexamined her hand closer. “It doesn’t look too bad,” he was speaking to hernow. “But I want you to keep ice on it. Just wait a second.”
Turning to the fridge, she watched him with wide-eyes as heclawed at the ice along the sides of the over-iced freezer with his bare hand.Crumbling under the pressure of his strong fingers, Zane scooped the ice intoher old empty carrot Ziploc bag.
