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God. Lying to Immy made her feel terrible.
“I’m all right.”
“Wait. So, whose phone is this?” she asked.
“One of my neighbors,” she said with a wince. “They kindly lent it to me when I woke up and couldn’t find mine. Michelle’s is closed tonight.” Finally, something that was the truth. “So I can’t grab my phone until tomorrow. And I didn’t want you guys to worry.”
Immy let out a deep breath. “Thank goodness you’re okay. Don’t scare us like that again, all right? The guys were about to fly to New York.”
“Don’t do that,” she said hastily.
Shit. Keep your cool, Cat.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Peachy keen, jellybean.” She cringed. That was terrible.
Alejandro made a movement with his hand, telling her to wrap things up.
Right. Good idea.
“Hey, Immy, I’ve got to go. My neighbor needs his phone back, okay?”
“Sure. You’re certain you’re all right? You don’t need me to deliver some whiskey to you?”
That was their code.
She’d ask Immy to send her some Tennessee Whiskey.
Meaning she wanted the guys to come save her.
But she didn’t need anyone to save her.
Not yet, anyway.
“Nope. I’m good,” she replied cheerfully. “Tell the others I should be in touch tomorrow once I get into work. Hopefully, my phone is still there.”
She knew that Isaiah would be able to track it, so she had to be careful to stick to some of the truth.
Not much truth. But a tiny bit.
“All right. Love you.”
“Love you too.” She ended the call and then deleted the number before handing it back to Alejandro.
He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. But he took the phone without comment.
She wasn’t sure if she’d just done the right thing.
She guessed only time would tell.
A knock on the door had her stiffening. Alejandro walked over to it and let in a man with wild red hair and pale skin.
“Aaron, good. Come in.”
The man walked in robotically. “You need me to check someone for an injury?”
“It’s not an injury,” she said with a sigh. “I just have a sore toe.”
She watched with interest as Aaron didn’t look at Alejandro. Was he scared of him?
“What happened?” Aaron asked as he prodded at her toe.
Cat winced with a hiss.
“Be careful,” Alejandro snapped.
Aaron stiffened, but nodded. “My apologies. How did this happen?”
“I kicked a door,” she explained reluctantly.
“Why would you kick a door?”
“It gave me lip,” she said dryly. “I thought I better teach it its place. I was like, you asshole door, I’m going to kick you until you give me what I want. Alas, it did not give me what I wanted.”
As she finished, she realized Aaron was staring up at her in shock.
Right. You’re acting like a crazy person, Cat.
So she did the only thing she could think of, she smiled down at him.
If anything, he looked more perturbed.
Suddenly, Alejandro moved between them. Aaron let out a surprised noise. She tried to peer around Alejandro, but he gently shoved her back.
“What’s wrong with her toe? Is it broken?” Alejandro asked.
“Um, no, just a bit bruised,” Aaron said, sounding nervous. “She should be fine. Put an ice pack on it for a while and get her to take some painkillers.”
“Good. You can go.”
Aaron nodded, and she managed to peek around Alejandro to watch him hightail it out of the office.
“He doesn’t get a thank you?” she asked.
“No, he doesn’t,” Alejandro snapped. “Let’s go. I don’t have all day, and I’ve got other places to be.”
Jeez. This guy ran hot and cold. One moment it seemed like he cared.
The next moment, it seemed like he couldn’t wait to get rid of her.
“We can grab an ice pack from the freezer for you on the way.”
Yep. Hot and cold.
She just needed to make certain that she didn’t get burned.
21
Alejandro was pissed.
How dare she smile at Aaron?
Aaron!
That asshole didn’t deserve her smiles. Alejandro was the one who’d saved and protected her. She should only smile at him.
Shit. Joder.
Control.
He needed control like he needed to breathe. The urge to make it a rule . . . that she should never smile or touch another man was burning deep inside him.
Breathe.
But fuck, she’d been dressed in only a robe! He should have insisted she put clothes on first.
He hadn’t even heard the address she’d whispered to Cairn or paid much attention to where they were going.
Which was inexcusable of him, he realized, when they stopped. He glanced around.
Fuck. Him.
Fury pounded through him, stealing his breath, his ability to reason.
So. Fucking. Angry.
This wasn’t where she lived. It couldn’t be. Because if it was . . . then he was about to lose his fucking mind. And he couldn’t afford to do that right now.
The world was close to burning around him, and if he didn’t find a way to tame the fire, everything could come crashing down.
So yeah, he had to remain in control. He needed to keep everything compartmentalized.
