Page 69 of Power

The tension in my shoulders eased, just a fraction. But then his expression shifted. The playfulness vanished, replaced by something darker. More intense. His jaw tightened as he studied my face.

“There’s one other person I want to protect you from, Scarlett.”

My breath caught when I realized who he was talking about: Grabby Hands. In the chaos of tonight, I’d momentarily, and blissfully, forgotten about him.

“I won’t pressure you about it right now. You’ve been through enough.” Gently, his fingers brushed mine, despite therage I could see simmering beneath his surface. “But tomorrow, you’ll give me the name of the man who violated you.”

The sudden shift in his tone caught me off guard. The playful banter from moments ago had vanished, replaced by something cold and precise. Something dangerous. Before tonight, I’d assumed if I gave him the name, best-case scenario, Jace would fire the guy. But the darkness in his eyes suggested he might have other plans.

“And if I tell you who did it,” I said carefully, “what will you do to him?”

Jace’s expression gave nothing away, a perfect CEO poker face sliding into place. “Let’s just say, he’ll understand boundaries better after our conversation.”

“Jace.” I pulled my hand back.

I should have been horrified by the implication of possible violence. Should have recoiled from this dangerous edge he’d revealed. Instead, a small, dark part of me—the part that still woke up screaming some nights—whispered that sometimes, just sometimes, it might be satisfying to have someone else use their power for good.

His phone buzzed, breaking the moment. He glanced at the screen, then back at me with an expression I couldn’t read.

“Tomorrow,” he said, the word somehow sounding like both a promise.

And a warning.

35

SCARLETT

“Holy shit,” Dakota said, leaning in the seat across from my desk. “What did you do when you left the emergency room?”

“After Jace left, I stayed at my mom’s place.”

I held up the compact, dabbing my red cheekbone with more powder. I’d done a decent job of hiding this, but, damn it, I could still see the mark, and if I could, that meant other people could too. The last thing I wanted was to get Jace in trouble for being with me last night. It wasn’t like we exactly had a professional explanation for him being at my apartment and getting into a violent confrontation with my father …

“And the security guy? Did he stay there too?”

I nodded. “He was positioned outside the entire night. And he followed me back to my place, where I changed and got ready for work this morning.”

“Well, I have to say, it’s pretty hot that Jace came to your defense.” Dakota wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Speaking of which … I eyed her. “You can’t tell anyone what happened.”

She cocked her head. “You know I would never do that.”

“I know, but it makes me feel better to have said it. You work at this company, too, so you can’t say anything.”

Now that I was thinking about it, maybe I shouldn’t have told Dakota what happened. The nondisclosure agreement refrained me from discussing the romantic weekend with anyone, but it didn’t stipulate what to do if Jace showed up and, you know, punched my father in the face and wrestled him to the ground.Details.

Grabbing a pen, I flattened the NDA on my desk and signed the bottom of it.

“So, you’re going to tell Jace who Grabby Hands is,” she deduced in a relieved tone that suggested I’d finally come to my senses after wandering in the desert of indecision.

“It won’t take him long to figure this out on his own. Might as well do it on my terms.” I tapped the pen against the paper. “Protecting me.”

“Still, this is a big deal. It means you trust him.”

“I trust that he’ll believe me.” Rising, I folded the paper in half to remove the risk of anyone seeing its contents.

“Good luck,” she said.