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He stormed through the doors, then immediately turned down a hallway. I followed after him, prepared for whatever misguided bullshit he wanted to spew. I’d known plenty of men like Leo Winthrop. He was a hero. A protective asshole. He liked saving the damsels in distress. We were complete opposites. Yes, I’d save the pretty girl from her own demise, but I’d also fuck her raw without guilt. Claim her like the dragon she was running from.
I followed him into an empty security room where monitors lined the wall. He nodded at the screen, then spoke. “I already cleared the footage of you putting Christine in your town car the night of the explosion.”
So he knew? Not surprising.
I pondered how I wanted to play this for a moment before speaking. “I suppose I should thank you.” Should being the operative word. But he had ulterior motives for bringing me here today, and I’d play along until I figured out his game.
“You should definitely be thanking me.” Leo crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
“And yet, I won’t.” I crossed my arms, mimicking his stance. “You’re a smart man. You know this was the best course of action. You did it for her, not for me.”
“I had to.” Leo’s eyes glowed with determination, and he took a step toward me. “She wasn’t safe here.”
Easy enough. I had work to do and he wasn’t worth my time. “So we’re on the same page. Good talk.”
“Is she okay?” The concern in his voice was suffocating.
“Burns on her arm and a sore throat. Doctor said she’ll be fine, though.” I eyed him as he sighed in relief. I couldn’t blame him. I’d had the same reaction. When I first pulled her from the building, I’d thought the worst. “Just to be clear. You’re not calling me here to try to convince me to tell Augustus, right?” The guard didn’t like his king, but he had a code of ethics and nasty little morals that were truly an inconvenience to men like me.
“Of course not,” he replied with a scowl. “Christine needs to be as far away from him and this castle as possible.”
“Then I don’t understand why you summoned me here. I’m a busy man. I’ve got to go make sure your king isn’t trying to overdose from the guilt.”
I turned to leave, but he reached out and grabbed my shoulder. “Not so fast.”
I aggressively shrugged him off and turned back to look at him. “What?”
“I want to see her.”
An easy enough request, but I wouldn’t allow it. “No.”
“Why not?” He looked like someone had just stolen his favorite toy.
“Because I don’t trust you. Christine may like you, but I sure as hell don’t. You’re going to be a good little shadow and stay here with Augustus. Keep him safe so she doesn’t rip both our balls off. You know she’d be devastated if anything happened to the fucker. And if you’re lucky, I’ll give you the occasional update about how good her lips feel wrapped around my cock.” I gave him a smug grin, the only kind of grin we DuPont men knew. The kind that said I’d fuck him up if not for the fact that Christine enjoyed his company. “I think that covers it.” I turned to leave, but Leo was a persistent little bastard.
He grabbed my shoulder once more. “I want to see her,” he growled. “I deserve to see her.” I tensed, ready to punch him right in his green eyes. They’d look better bloody. “I need to know that she’s okay,” he added in a quieter voice.
I loomed over him and glared. “She’s doing great. Happy. Healthy. Thrilled to be with me.”
His gaze roamed my expression. “You’re lying. I bet she’s pissed as hell at you. I bet she hates you.”
I grabbed his shoulders and pinned him to the wall. “I’m going to let that go because you helped me erase the footage, but if you say that one more time, I’ll rip your throat out with my bare hands. Understand?” I punctuated my sentence by releasing him and tossing him aside.
He rubbed his shoulder where I’d gripped him. “Did I strike a nerve?” he taunted. “She’s pissed at you. Admit it. If you let me see her, maybe—”
“You think you could get her to talk? You’re barely man enough to act on your feelings for her. I bet when she looks at you, all she feels is pity.”
He balled his fists at his side and took a step closer to me. “You’re going to take me to her.”
I cocked my brow. I didn’t think the poor man had it in him. “Or what?”
“Or I’ll tell Augustus that she’s alive. And you can try to kill me, but if I go missing, I have a contact that will inform the king of what you’re up to—”
I knew Leo wasn’t close to too many people. It was easy to deduce who he might have told. “Your mother? Or your sweet little sister? I could kill both of them.” I shrugged. It didn’t bother me to tie up loose ends.
If he was worried about my threat, he didn’t show it. Once again, the golden retriever of a man surprised me. “Your threats might mean a lot in your world, but they’re empty promises in mine. I don’t care how much power you have or how deadly you think you are. You’re going to let me see Christine.”
He poked me in the chest with his index finger, and I debated snapping it off and shoving it up his ass. I considered my options for a moment. Something about his nonreaction to my threat told me that Leo didn’t tell his mother or sister about this, which meant someone in the castle knew. “I thought you wanted to keep her safe?” I questioned.
