Page 13

She’s glaring at me like she wants to set me on fire with her eyes.

Her chest is heaving, her lips parted, her breath coming hard and fast. Her cheeks are flushed a deep, furious pink, high with color and glistening with a light sheen of sweat that catches the dashboard light just right.

It trails along the curve of her neck and down to the swell of her breasts, now barely contained beneath the fabric of her dress.

She’s still dressed but disheveled, and the dress is clinging in all the wrong places in a way that makes it impossible not to look.

Her skin glows, dewy from heat and rage, her collarbone sharp and tense like she’s holding everything back by a thread. And even like this, furious, disheveled, and defiant, fuck me, she’s still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

She’s like a storm bottled in desire and sweat. And every part of me wants to touch the lightning.

“You’re going home,” I say. My voice is low, sharp, and controlled only by a thread of restraint. “And if I see you out with him again, Lyra, I will make you regret it.”

The driver’s trying to disappear into the driver’s seat.

I snap at him. “Take her back. Now. Don’t stop. Don’t talk. Don’t listen.”

He nods like he’s been drafted into war.

I slam the door and watch the car peel away, her curses still echoing behind the tinted glass.

Then, I turn.

Jake’s still in his car. I can see the panic now. He’s realized this isn’t just some angry boyfriend moment. This is deeper. Darker. Dangerous.

I start walking. One step at a time.

Because I’ve got business to handle. And Jake has about thirty seconds left before he finds out what happens when you make a monster jealous.

I don’t walk back to Jake’s car. I stalk. The difference is intent. I want the bastard to know never to come near me or Lyra ever again, and from the way he’s already squirming, it’s not gonna be hard.

My boots hit the pavement like punctuation marks, like every step is the end of a sentence that’s been building since the moment Lyra smiled over her shoulder like she wasn’t mine to protect, or punish.

Jake’s still behind the wheel, his fingers drumming the steering wheel like he’s waiting for the credits to roll. Poor bastard probably thinks the worst is over and that the show’s ended.

I knock on the window once. He flinches hard enough to rattle his teeth. I take that as a “come in,” so I pop the door and slide into the passenger seat with a slow smile that could slice granite.

His eyes dart to the glove box, which is a mistake.

“Don’t,” I say, calm as a butcher sharpening a knife.

He freezes. Smart boy. Finally.

“Hey man, I didn’t mean to—”

“No,” I interrupt. “You didn’t mean to get caught. That’s different.”

I let him squirm in the quiet. Then, I reach into my coat.

No, not for a gun. Not yet. Instead, I pull out my mini-iPad and toss it onto his lap.

Jake blinks in the glow of the screen. “What is this?”

“Your sins. Condensed,” I say. “Page two’s the good stuff. DUI from college. That little misunderstanding with your coach’s daughter—remind me, was she seventeen or did she just look it? And let’s not forget the photos from last year’s ‘charity’ yacht party.”

His face goes white. Paler than his pressed collar.

I lean in, lowering my voice. “You think you’re smooth. Harmless. But I make it my business to know exactly what kind of trash tries to crawl into Lyra’s bed.”

Jake stammers, “She invited me. She called me.”

“Of course she did,” I say, smiling with no warmth. “She’s fire in a bottle, and you’re just dumb enough to think you can handle a sip.”

His mouth opens and closes. He’s breathing through his mouth now, like a fish flung out of water. I tap the iPad once.

“You know what makes me different from every other man she’s ever tangled with, Jake?”

He doesn’t answer.

“I don’t run when it gets messy. I don’t scare easily. And I don’t lose. Ever.”

Jake swallows. “I didn’t mean any harm.”

“No, you meant to get laid,” I correct. “And look… I get it. She’s intoxicating. The mouth, the hips, the way she laughs like she already knows how the night ends.”

Jake shifts uncomfortably, and his knee bounces with nervousness. If the situation were any different, I might’ve felt sorry for the boy.

“But here’s the thing,” I say, my voice low, teeth bared. “She needs someone who doesn’t blink when the world burns. Someone who doesn’t crumble when she tests him. She needs someone strong. You, Jake? You fold like a wet napkin.”

Jake tries to recover. “I didn’t know she had…”

“A handler?” I smile wider. “Security detail? Keeper? Call me what you want. The reality is, you’ve got one night to disappear. That is, if you care about your future, your career, and your reputation. Hell, even your kneecaps .”

His eyes widen.

I lean closer, resting an elbow on the console like we’re old pals.

“See, I’m a reasonable guy. I didn’t drag you out of the car.

I didn’t beat your teeth in. Yet. But if I see you within ten miles of her again…

” My smile fades, slowly turning into something more lethal as I reach into my pocket and wrap my fingers around the cold metal I’ve been carrying this whole time.

He doesn’t notice at first. People like him never do. They’re too busy hearing themselves talk, too busy believing they’re untouchable. But that belief drains from his face the moment I draw the gun and lay it gently on my lap like it’s just another casual item I’ve been meaning to use.

Click.

The sound of the magazine sliding into place breaks the silence like a crack of thunder in a dead-still room.

His eyes drop to the weapon.

I lean in again, my voice low and intimate, too intimate, like a secret passed between friends.

“I’ll make sure your life gets very, very small,” I whisper, my voice soft, almost sweet.

The kind of promise that sounds harmless until it sinks in too deep to escape.

And I have to admit, I’m enjoying this more than I probably should.

The hint of fear in his eyes, the way his bravado cracks.

It’s thrilling. His wild, darting gaze only feeds the adrenaline humming through me. I haven’t felt this alive in months.

I raise the gun and let the barrel hover just above his thigh.

Not quite touching just yet, just close enough that he can feel the threat in the air between us.

My wrist turns, slow and smooth, the muzzle drifting up, then down, following the line of his leg until I’m at his cock, which isn’t hard anymore.

He’s breathing harder now. Still trying to look brave, trying to cling to that last shred of bravado. But his hands have stilled. His mouth opens, then closes again, and there it is, the realization. He knows I’m not bluffing.

I move the gun up and down his cock, pushing the firing pin into it. Jake stills, his eyes wild with fear and panic. I let the gun dip just slightly until I reach his tip. Then I finally push it down, harder this time, enough to hurt but not cause any permanent damage.

Jake’s voice cracks. “You’re insane.”

I nod slowly. “Probably. But I’m also very, very good at my job. And right now, my job is keeping her from making mistakes. You’re a mistake with a heartbeat.”

I don’t move for a whole minute. I just sit there looking into his eyes with the gun pushing into his cock. Finally, when I’m sure I’ve scared him enough for a lifetime, I retreat and put the gun back into my pocket.

I open the door and turn toward him. “Pack your shit. Get in your car. And vanish.”

He doesn’t move.

I lean back in and whisper, “Oh, and that iPad? It’s yours to keep. Just in case you forget who’s watching.”

I walk away without looking back. Because I don’t need to.

Some lessons only need to be taught once.

And Jake just graduated with honors in Fear 101.