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Jez opens her mouth to smart off to him, but I put a finger to her lips to silence her. My dick twitches at the contact, and I shift to try and get more comfortable.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” I say. “I was coordinating with Phantom since his plane lands this afternoon.”
I realize my mistake the moment the words are out of my mouth.
“He’s not there?” Soul barks.
“Uh, no, he went home to get some of his things so he could be here for the duration of whatever the fuck is going on.”
Soul sighs, and I can imagine how deep his worry crease is. Glancing at Jez, I grin because her forehead is wrinkled exactly the same way.
Twins, man.
“She’s still not talking,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Nope.” I force a chuckle. “Unless you count cussing me out every chance she gets.”
Jez grins at that.
“Sounds about right,” Prez says, his tone softening.
I know the man misses her and worries about her, but he has to stop treating her like she’s a little kid or he’s gonna lose her. I decide to put the poor guy out of his misery.
“Look, she’s healing and getting the rest she needs,” I tell him with a sigh. “That’s the most important thing, right?”
“Fuck off,” he mutters, and I chuckle.
“Jez is strong, Prez. You’ve made sure of that. When she decides to open up, I’ll be here, and so will Phantom,” I add in what I hope is a grudging tone. “She’s not alone in this.”
“Whatever this is.”
“I need you to trust me, brother,” I say. “And Jez needs you to trust her.”
“I do,” he insists. “If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be there. But don’t for a second think I won’t bury you alive if anything happens to her on your watch. Losing your patch will be the easy part of your punishment.”
“I’d expect nothing less.” I pause for a moment to let that sink in. “Anything else, Prez?”
He sighs. “No. But I expect updates, Demon.”
Jez scowls, and I give her a reassuring smile. “I swear, you’ll get all the information you need to ensure your sister is safe.”
In other words, he’ll get jack shit unless Phantom and I can’t do our job.
“Okay. Um…” He takes a deep breath. “Tell her I love her, yeah?”
“I will, but she knows, man, I promise you that.”
Without another word, the call ends, and I shove the phone in my pocket as I keep my gaze locked on Jez.
“You didn’t tell him anything,” she says quietly.
I shrug. “Wasn’t really anything to tell, but even if there had been, I told you… I’m loyal to you.”
“Why?”
Leaning back, I tip my head and stare at the ceiling. “Like I said the other day, you’re mine.”
Jez doesn’t speak, but she does rest her small hand on my thigh, and my muscles bunch under the touch.