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The murdered woman was thinner, the lines of her face harsher.
All Mars did as they walked into the coffee shop was focus on the differences.
“Are you okay?” He turned to her, lifting a hand to cup her face. She didn’t flinch from him, and he was both surprised and pleased.
Her heartbeat hadn’t slowed yet.
Rhiannon’s eyes were glassy, and she seemed stuck in some faraway reverie. It seemed she almost had to drag herself back to the present.
Back to him …
“Um, yeah,” she murmured.
“Let me get us some coffee,” he said. Mars slipped into CEO mode and helped her to a seat, then went to the counter and placed their orders.
He couldn’t handle the situation any other way. That was how he had grown up, after all. His father had drilled it into him that the only way he could deal with problems was in the boardroom.
But as he walked back to their small table, he forced himself to soften. Whatever was wrong with Rhiannon, she needed comfort, not orders.
“I know you’re not okay,” he said gently. He placed a coffee in front of her on the table. “Please tell me what is going on.”
She spooned two sugars into her coffee and took a sip. Then she took a shuddering breath, shaking her head. She pulled her hair out of its bun, and her dark tresses tumbled down her back.
Mars swallowed several times as he looked at her.
“I just,” she began. Then paused. She took another deep breath. “In my work, there have been times when I have dealt with dangerous people. I’ve gotten threats before. And now seeing that girl …”
“What?” he asked and felt his own heartbeat start to race. He had to suppress the low rumbling in his chest and took a sip of his coffee.
“I’ve received really violent threats. And I’m wondering if that girl was a threat. Toward me.” Rhiannon looked at him with terrified eyes, and Mars realized he had never seen her afraid before. She was genuinely scared for her life, and he couldn’t imagine the kind of threats she had received in the past.
“She did look a lot like you,” Mars concurred. His mind was spinning in a thousand different directions as he looked at her.
Is someone truly threatening your mate? What are you going to do about it?the voice in his head asked him.
He didn’t want to think about someone threatening his mate. Not in front of Rhiannon, anyway. It would make his rage burn and boil. He would end up throwing the tables.
“I just don’t think it’s a coincidence,” she said in response. “And I have worked in a lot of battered women shelters. I have helped a lot of women and their children flee violent men.”
“And sometimes those men don’t take it so well?” Mars asked.
Rhiannon nodded.
“They associate me with the object of their abuse leaving. In their minds, I am the reason they’ve lost their punching bags. Abusers never see anything wrong with their actions. All they do is find someone else to blame.”
“Listen,” Mars said, leaning toward her. “I can have a whole security team around you at all times.”
The color leaked from Rhiannon’s face, and she shook her head hurriedly.
“No.” She almost gasped the word. “Look, I’m probably just overthinking this and being silly. I don’t want you to worry about me.”
Mars had to restrain himself from growling. He gulped down more of his coffee, trying to drown his frustration.
How could his mate think he would not worry about her?he asked himself almost angrily. But then he had to remind himself that she wasn’t a shifter. She didn’t understand the mating bond. She didn’t understand that anyone who hurt her was also hurting him. She did not understand that she was the most important person in the world to him.
Mars thought back to a dream he had had about Rhiannon. It had been dark and twisted and filled with worry.
That was all he did when he wasn’t with her. He worried. He hoped she was safe. He wished he was there to protect her. The dream had been a one-off, and he was thankful that it had not reoccurred. He didn’t think he could deal with those emotions again.
