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Is he mad that I came to sign the papers with Slick?
It was a thought that plagued her during their entire journey onto the highway. She didn’t know what she was going to say to him about it. In fact, she was kind of still reeling from the fight she’d walked in on and that Dylan might have killed someone if she hadn’t been there to stop him.
Is that what shifters are like? Ruthless?
She supposed that when it came down to the people they loved and protected, that they’d do anything to make sure that happened.
“Rose.” She jumped a little at the sudden sound of his voice. Craning her neck, she looked at him. He stared out the windshield while speaking. “What the hell was that?”
TWENTY-THREE
DYLAN
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her gulp. “I …”
He waited patiently for her to finish her thought. Or gather them, really. He wasn’t too sure at this point.
He’d been dying ever since they’d gotten into the car to grill her about her deal with Slick and what the hell it was all about, but seeing as she’d just witnessed her first shifter fight, he was trying to give her a little bit of room to come down from the adrenaline rush.
At her continued silence, he tried prompting her again.
“I guess you have some ‘splaining to do?”
He didn’t know if it’d lighten the mood or not, but his heart sang a little when he saw her crack a small smile.
“I’m sorry, Dylan.”
“Talk to me.”
“Slick, he … I was performing at one of my gigs." Her eyes flew open as she said it, but he waved her off.
"I already know about the band."
She nodded slowly. "Well … he just approached me out of nowhere and told me he wanted to represent me. But I got major creep vibes from him, so I turned him down. That’s when he started threatening me.”
Dylan’s hands flexed around his wheel. The urge to spin this car around and go back to Slick’s studio to finish what he started was unfathomably tempting.
“Threatened you how?”
“He’s the reason I lost my job.”
He glanced at her sharply. “Unbelievable,” he muttered.
She nodded. “He sent pictures of me on stage to my principal. Told him that I was doing obscene things and that it wasn’t appropriate for me to be teaching students.”
Dylan shook his head, trying to backseat his anger for the time being while she continued to talk.
“I didn’t know what to do. Slick told me that my only option was to come work for him. But he didn’t want to sign my band, just me. I didn’t feel like I had any choice. He’d already ruined one of my careers …”
He slid his hand off of the wheel and wrapped it around her leg when she started to choke up. He hated seeing his mate so upset and feeling like she’d been backed into a corner like a caged animal. It wasn’t right, but it was exactly how Slick played. Dirty and un-fucking-fair.
“I’m sorry he did that to you, Rose.”
She sniffled. “I should’ve told you. But I didn’t want you to be triggered with Jazzy. I couldn’t put you through that.”
He squeezed her leg tightly. “I would do anything to protect you. Even facing Slick.”
“I know,” her voice quiet. “That’s what I love about you.”
