Tell me there aren’t at least three men now guarding the gate?
I sent it with the full force of a challenge.
King
Gates are locked up tight. If someone wants in, they are going through security first.
A little relief hit me at the confirmation, not that I expected anything less.
Silas was clearly not to be toyed with, and I knew that trespasser from yesterday had put him over the edge.
Broke something in him, too.
Me
Exactly as I thought.
King
Doesn’t change a thing.
Me
Sure it does, King. And this girl isn’t conceding. There’s work to be done.
A surge of determination rolled through me, and I set my phone aside, dug through my makeup bag, then leaned forward to apply pink gloss to my lips.
I sat back and took in my reflection.
Eyes bright and curls barely tamed.
And for the first time in years, I was almost able to recognize myself.
FORTY-TWO
BRINLEY
It took allof five minutes for that energy to enclose behind me. A blanket of red-hot severity engulfing me where I leaned forward at the desk, flipping the lid on the laptop and pressing it on.
There was no question that it was Silas who came to stand just inside the door between the office and shop.
I could feel him standing there with his sinewy arms crossed over his chest.
Oozing that special brand of volatility.
An inferno of irritation and barely tapped lust.
He would have beaten me there had Brody not given me a ride over in his truck.
I guess Silas had taken my response as a challenge.
A duel.
Or maybe I’d just delivered it as one.
Maybe I wanted to fight it out with this temperamental, infuriating man because there was something about doing it that exposed the remnants of who I used to be.
Something about it that made me feel real and raw and important.
