I open my mouth to lie, but instead just shrug. “She was upset when she left the house. I wanted to make sure she got here okay, and then I had a bad feeling.”
He appraises me for another second, his tired green eyes searching out any mistruth.
“I don’t give a fuck if she doesn’t want to see us,” Damon snaps. “She owes us answers.”
“She doesn’t owe you shit,” I growl.
It takes a lot to make me lose my temper, but these two are pushing me closer to the edge than I would like, and I try not to think about why that is.
One of the reasons I fly under the radar so well is because of my easy-going nature, but right now I’m anything but easy-going.
I’m ready to show them the demon that lies beneath the surface, the ones my victims face before they take their excruciating final breaths.
If they’re the mafia family she ran from a decade ago, I have a CliffsNotes account of what the Lombardis did to Chloe, and that’s enough to put them on my permanent hit list, if only my boss would say the word.
The door opens a fraction, and pretty green eyes meet mine through the crack before darting between the other men occupying this narrow hallway. If it weren’t for how fucking terrified she looks right now, it would probably be comical, but all I can think about is getting her the fuck out of this apartment.
“Chloe.”
Ronan’s voice cuts through the tension, and my body locks at the same time hers does. Tears roll down her cheeks as she takes in the boy she once shared so much with.
The organ inside my chest squeezes at the sight of her pain. Although she’s been distressed the last few days since Camilla went missing, the look in her eyes right now is pure agony, and I fucking hate it.
“You ready to go, Siren?” The nickname I’ve only allowed in my own thoughts slips out, earning me a growl from both brothers and an eyebrow raise from Bishop.
Chloe must not notice because she gives me a nod but doesn’t open the door any further.
Getting her out past these two is going to be a pain in the ass.
CHAPTER SIX
CHLOE
NOW
It’s been a long time since the urge to run has felt so strong.
Every nerve ending screams at me to flee, to get as far away from the men that plague my nightmares as I can get, and yet I’m too scared to do anything other than hide in this room.
Kovu watches the door intently, as if he’s ready to get between me and whatever comes through it, and I can’t help but feel grateful Camilla got herself involved with a bunch of ruthless psychopaths.
I creep closer to the door, my feet dragging me forward as the voices become louder. I’m pretty sure both brothers are on the other side, as well as Ryker, but I can’t explain why he’s here or how he even knew the address because I didn’t give it to him before I left.
Regardless of how he got here, some of my terror relinquishes at the knowledge that my not-bodyguard can get me home safely.
What I’m going to do after that, I’m not so sure.
Trembling hand hovering over the handle, I pull in a deep breath before opening it just a crack.
I can’t stay in here forever, and knowing how pigheaded the Lombardi men can be, they’re much more likely to wait me out than I am them.
Deep amber eyes meet mine, relief moving through the normally calm depths. Ryker has both hands shoved into his pockets, his body relaxed despite the obviously tense moment he’s walked into.
“Chloe.” The single word coming from the lips of the first boy I ever kissed, hell, the boy that has all of my firsts, almost brings me to my knees.
Like a moth to a flame, my eyes connect with Ronan’s, and all the air around me disappears. Gone is the lanky teenager I once knew with an air of innocence that had no place in a family as ruthless as his.
The hurt and anger swirling around the deep green makes my chest ache for him, but I force myself to look away, to break the connection before it can destroy me.
