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“Said like a true narcissist,” I counter with a smirk. “Not everything is done with you in mind, professor. As there isn’t much time for laundry when working a case, these are the only clean clothes I have at the moment.”
Something wild flashes in his eyes, a dare to make me as dirty as his thoughts.
I sense the curious press of Detective Riddick’s gaze before he eases toward us. “I heard you’ve been cleared of any charges,” Riddick says to Kallum, his eyes dropping to the evident bruises along Kallum’s knuckles. “That’s one hell of a lawyer you have there.”
Kallum flashes a dark smile. “The best a psychopath’s money can buy.”
“There were never any charges pressed, Detective Riddick,” I say, setting the record straight. “I believe the whole ordeal was a misunderstanding.”
“Of course,” Riddick says, his glare heavy on Kallum. “Although Agent Alister isn’t around to give his side, but I’m sure it was just a simple misunderstanding between professionals.”
Tension gathers as a beat of awkward silence settles around us. Hernandez tugs at the knot of his necktie before he slips off toward Rana, leaving the three of us standing, staring.
“This is taking too long,” I say, trying to diffuse the tension. “We should already be out there searching for Devyn.”
Riddick draws closer to my side. “You’re not going back into the field.” His tone is incredulous as his gaze pans over me, landing hard on the distinct bruises striping my neck, the ones left behind by Kallum’s belt. “Not after what happened.”
A hard mask descends over Kallum’s face, and he tips his chin higher. “Be careful, detective. The last person who looked at her like that wound up flayed.”
The air charges with the crackling intensity of Kallum’s near admission. My heart plummets, leaving me suspended in disbelief.
“That sounds suspiciously like a threat,” Riddick says.
Kallum’s chuckle is caustic. “Excellent detecting skills, detective.”
“Kallum,” I say, my voice low in warning.
“No, I get it.” Riddick turns a softer, somewhat forced smile on me. “The professor here is clearly marking his territory. In bad taste, I might add.”
A measure of relief frees my constricted lungs, but only marginally. While Riddick’s ego can brush off Kallum’s remark, the fact is Kallum is skirting too dangerously close to getting himself detained. Again.
Before the situation escalates, Agent Rana addresses the team. “We need to recover a significant amount of time. Let’s start.”
Kallum and Riddick continue to stare at one another, each one waiting for the other to be the first to back down. I step in front of Kallum, my eyes saying what my voice can’t.
He’s garnering all the wrong attention.
Finally, Kallum takes a step backward, aiming a callous smirk at the detective before he pivots in the direction of the table. Rana begins issuing directives to the task force to further dissipate the male aggression.
In contrast to his primitive behavior, Kallum pulls out a chair for me in chivalrous offer. I set my tote on the floor and seat myself, and his finger traces my shoulder, unable to deny himself that single touch. I feel that touch ricochet against every cell in my body.
“Stopmarking your territory,” I say to him in a hushed tone.
He sits adjacent to me at the corner of the table, a smug smile lifting the corner of his mouth. “I apparently didn’t mark it well enough the first time.” He casts a scathing glare Riddick’s way. “I won’t make that mistake again.”
I believe him.
Kallum has poor impulse control. He doesn’t just like to rile people, he takes deviant pleasure in it. He doesn’t fear Riddick or anyone else here, he thinks he’s untouchable, and he’s blatant about that fact.
And despite the crushing fear of what will happen to him if he can’t restrain himself, the intense urge to drag him into the next interrogation room over grips me so fiercely, I have to press my hot palms to the cool surface of the table.
Something was unleashed within me the last time we were together, and it’s wild and unhinged and tears at the cage of my chest. I felt it the moment Kallum released his belt from around my neck, and I slipped into some state between.
I’ve never been broken so immensely, and yet felt so complete, whole.
Sitting in this stark room with loud fluorescents, agitation worms beneath my skin, like an itch festering too deep. If I don’t rake it free of my flesh soon, I’ll come apart.
Kallum’s gaze dips to the vee of my blouse, and I try to ignore the heat flashing my skin as I force my attention ahead on the interrogation room.
