Page 87 of Lock

My jaw tightened.

“Our men will hesitate if the kid’s involved,” Grim added.

“He stays in my room,” I said.

Grim studied me. “Then you stay there too.”

He left.

Fuck!

11

KELLAN

I wokeup and Lock was gone.

I knew it before I opened my eyes. The bed felt different without his weight behind me. Cooler. Too quiet. The place where his arm had been was empty, the sheets barely disturbed like he’d been careful even leaving.

Of course he had.

I stared at the ceiling for a long minute, replaying last night whether I wanted to or not. Not the touching. Not the way my body had leaned into him like it had found something it recognized.

The restraint.

That was what stuck.

He could’ve taken more. He hadn’t. And that somehow messed with my head worse than if he had.

I pushed up slowly and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing my face. My shirt… his shirt… was wrinkled and stretched at the collar. I should’ve changed. Should’ve given it back. Instead, I stood there holding the hem like an idiot, breathing in a scent that didn’t belong to me and pretending that didn’t matter.

It mattered.

Everything did.

I dressed quickly after that, pulling on jeans Ember had brought me yesterday and my boots. The cut was folded neatly on the chair. I hesitated, fingers hovering over the leather.

Then I picked it up and put it on.

If people were going to stare anyway, I wasn’t going to flinch about it.

When I stepped into the hallway, the day had already settled into itself. Men moved with purpose. No one rushed. No one hovered. A couple of guys nodded at me as they passed. Not friendly, not hostile. Just acknowledging that I existed.

That was new too.

Ember found me near the stairs like she’d been keeping an ear out for me.

“You sleep?” she asked.

“Some,” I said. “You?”

She snorted. “Never do.”

She turned and started walking without checking if I’d follow. I did.

“Lock already up?” I asked, hating how neutral I was trying to sound.

She didn’t look at me. “Yeah.”