Page 60 of His Ruthless Match

“You’re bleeding,” I said, forcing myself to think about her injuries instead of how good she felt in my arms.

“I know. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fucking fine,” I muttered as I guided her toward the door.

She let me lead her without protest. I could tell she was scared, and every protective instinct in me was screaming to make whoever did this suffer.

But first, I had to get her safe. Everything else could wait.

The car was too quiet.

Eva sat in the passenger seat of her car, her knees bouncing incessantly as she wrung her hands in her lap. The tension radiating off her was palpable, filling the confined space like a pressure cooker about to blow. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, glancing at her every few seconds. It wasn’t like her to be so quiet, so still—well, except for the damn knee. The silence was unnerving.

“You okay?” I asked, breaking the quiet. My voice sounded rougher than I intended.

Her gaze flickered toward me, and for a brief moment, I caught the vulnerability in her eyes before she quickly looked away. “Fine,” she muttered.

Fine. Right. Sure, because a bloody nose and a missing celebrity screamedfine.

Her knee kept bouncing, the rhythmic movement grating on my nerves—not because it was annoying, but because it was a glaring sign of how shaken she was. Eva Delgado didn’t fidget. She stood tall, mouth sharp as a blade, always ready to tear someone apart. Seeing her like this messed with me more than I cared to admit.

This was my fault.

If I hadn’t been screwing around in the Crimson Dominion, I could’ve stopped the bastard who did this. The Shadow had made it clear: Eva was my priority. Above everything else. And I’d let her down.

She needed someone focused, someone who wouldn’t get distracted. I silently vowed to myself, and to The Shadow, that I wouldn’t leave her side again. Whatever fight she put up, I didn’t care. I wasn’t leaving her side until this was handled.

And when I got the chance, I would update him on the situation.

Fuck. What a mess.

I pulled into the police station parking lot and killed the engine. “Come on,” I said, getting out and walking around to open her door before she could argue. She didn’t even give me her usual snark about chivalry being dead. That alone was unsettling.

Inside, the fluorescent lighting buzzed faintly, and the faint scent of burnt coffee made me wrinkle my nose. Eva stepped up to the front desk, her movements stiff but purposeful. The officer on duty looked up, his gaze immediately zeroing in on the blood smeared across her face.

The guy tensed, his eyes darting to me.

Before he could say anything, Eva raised her hands. “He didn’t do this,” she said quickly. “He’s a… friend.”

Friend? Really? Since when? I thought she couldn’t stand me. I bit back the snarky remark that was on the tip of my tongue and kept quiet.

“I need to speak to Detective Brooker,” Eva said firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Tell him Eva Delgado is here to see him.”

The officer raised an eyebrow but picked up the phone. A moment later, he hung up. “Have a seat. He’ll see you in five.”

We didn’t even have to wait that long. Soon enough, we were led down a hall to an office with a placard that readDetective Allen Brooker.The man inside was tall, with white hair and an easy smile that quickly disappeared when he saw Eva’s face.

“Eva,” he said, his voice warm with familiarity before it turned sharp. “What happened?”

She gestured to me without looking back. “This is Jareth. He’s my... personal security guard.”

The detective’s brows lifted. “Security guard? Why do you need a security guard?”

“Genevieve Witt,” she said simply, as if that explained everything.

Brooker leaned back in his chair, his expression shifting to mild amusement. “Ah, yes. The golden girl of Hollywood. I’ve been keeping up with the tabloids. Guilty pleasure, don’t judge me.”

Eva wasn’t amused. “Genevieve was abducted.”