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Chapter 23
The doorto Jonas’s office flings open suddenly, slamming into the wall so hard the knob obliterates the plaster. Elena stands there, fury ebbing so clearly from her that it makes those golden irises glow, brightening them against the backdrop of the bar behind her.
“If you’re fucking another girl, I want to know right now.”
Leaning back in my chair, I fold my hands over my lap, taking her in. Her hair spills down her back in wind-swept waves, while the little blue dress she has on does absolutely nothing to hide her figure from me.
Curves I’ve grown addicted to; my drug of choice.
To my right, Jonas pushes back from his desk, scooping the file with the bouncer applications into their folder, though he doesn’t make any move to leave the room.
I should be surprised to see her here, but I’m not. Aside from the fact that after her attack, I had her phone outfitted so I’d be able to track her location at all times, there are just certain things you can’t change about a person.
Once Elena gets a taste of freedom, she won’t be recaged without a fight.
Frankly, I’m surprised it’s taken this long for her to venture off our property. There are only so many days you can spend staring at a plot of dirt, waiting for spring to arrive.
“Elena,” I say, forcing my voice to stay even, despite the irritation flowing through me. Not at her, but at everything else in my life. “I’m in the middle of something. Can this wait?”
“I don’t know, Kal, because we never discussed sexually transmitted diseases, and I’ve just had the most interesting conversation with some girl out front who knows you.” Her lips curl back in a sneer. “You’re the only one I’ve been with, so as far as that goes, you’re okay, but am I? Who fucking knows, since apparently I really am the cliché virgin archetype, and I just trust that a man with so much more life experience than me—a freaking doctor, even—would know better.”
“Jesus.” Dragging a hand down the side of my face, I rub at an ache in my jaw. Looking at Jonas, I nod toward the door. “You can see yourself out.”
“I wouldn’t mind staying for the show.”
I pin him with a look, and he huffs but gets to his feet anyway, making his combat boots thud harder against the floor than normal. When he reaches the door, Elena shifts slightly to the side to grant him passage, never taking her gaze off me.
“Go easy on him, will ya, love?” Jonas says, and I have to grip on to the plastic armrests on my chair to keep from launching myself at him, and tearing his intestines through his asshole for even looking at her, after everything.
She turns, blinking, clearly taken aback, though by his accent or the fact that he’s speaking to her at all, I can’t quite tell. It’s instantaneous, the way his attention extinguishes her fire, fingers pinching a flame until it no longer exists.
“Who are you?” she asks, narrowing her eyes, taking in the leather jacket stretched across broad shoulders, the unkempt beard, the general sense of danger that follows him like a storm cloud.
Her foot inches backward ever so slightly; Jonas doesn’t seem to notice, but I catch it, and the retreat twists my stomach in knots.
“Jonas Wolfe, pleased to meet you,” he says, tipping his chin down in acknowledgment. “Not surprised you didn’t know that, though. That one over there is bloody terrible at introductions.”
He hooks his thumb in my direction, and I feel the barrier between my patience and my lack thereof waning the longer he stands here, defying me openly.
“How about I introduce you to the inside of a casket?” I say, unhooking my gun from where it’s strapped at my waist, cocking the pistol and loading a magazine into the chamber.
Pointing it directly at Jonas’s kneecap, I let my index finger ghost over the trigger, counting down in my head to see how long it takes him to move.
He ignores me, giving Elena a conspiratorial smile. “Not the most polite fella, is he?”
“Not really,” she quietly agrees, shifting her eyes to mine; the heat from before slowly morphs to something duller, something needy.
There’s a discomfort hidden in her depths, and it takes me a second to recognize how walking back in here after being attacked might make her feel.
That although it’s been weeks, she might still need to ease into it, and by barreling inside to confront me, maybe she’s skipped a few important steps of recovery.
Even the strongest glass cracks under enough pressure.
“Goodbye, Jonas,” I snap, pinching one eye closed to better my aim. Just as I start to pull back on the trigger, uncaring that there are customers outside, he yanks open the door.
“All right,” he says, waving the folder in my direction, nodding at Elena. “Again, pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Elena. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon.”
She nods, not breaking my stare, and then he’s slipping from the room without another word, pulling the door shut behind him.
