Page 7

Silence greets me as I head toward the kitchen and try not to panic when I don’t find Ant where I left him.

Dumping the bags, I go in search of him. My heart rate increases with every step I take and I don’t see or hear any evidence of them being here.

By the time I’m halfway through the building, I’m damn near running.

I shouldn’t have fucking left him here with her.

I fucking trusted him, and if he’s—

All the air rushes out of my lungs as I turn the corner and find him pressing my angel against the wall, staring down at her as if she’s his.

Her eyes widen in relief as she stares at me, doing her best to free herself from Ant’s hold.

“Daemon, oh my God,” she breathes. The sound of her voice sends goosebumps racing across my skin.

My fingers curl, the weight of my gun tucked into my waistband becoming more and more apparent.

“Let her go,” I growl, my eyes locked on the side of Ant’s head. My brows pinch when I find a small trickle of blood running down his cheeks as he continues to stare down at her as if she was made for him.

She fucking wasn’t.

When he doesn’t move, my hand takes on a life of its own, and in seconds, I have my gun once again trained on his head.

“Daemon,” Calli warns. “Don’t.”

“Then he needs to back the fuck up,” I bark, pointing my gun in the direction I want him to go.

The second he releases her, Calli jumps in front of him, protecting him.

“Put it down,” she demands.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I hiss. “You’re protecting him?”

She stares at me in disbelief.

“Put the gun down, Daemon,” she growls, her angry eyes holding mine, demanding I follow orders.

After a couple of seconds and a silent death threat at Ant, I finally lower it. But I don’t tuck it away, preferring to keep it at my side just in case.

He might have been on our side when he came to me for help with this, and I might trust him to keep her safe, but I don’t fucking trust his intentions beyond that.

He wants her. I didn’t need to see him pinning her to the wall to have that confirmed. The image of him between her legs in his room a couple of weeks ago has never left me.

Finally, she steps away from Ant and closes the space between us.

My entire body aches as her scent fills my nose.

She stares up at me, her eyes dark and tired. Her skin is pale and her hair a mess.

She looks fucking beautiful.

My fingers curl as I fight my need to reach for her.

My heart thunders as I wait for what she’s going to do.

For a second, I’m clueless. Totally fucking lost as to where her head is at with all this. But then her hand twitches at her side and I know exactly what’s coming.

The sting of her slap makes my breath catch, but I don’t react other than that.