Page 91 of Ruthless Commander

“He said that?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

“What was the message?”

My gut clenched as I flicked on the bathroom light. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing,” I repeated and opened the cupboard, grabbing my shaving kit.

“Then how do you know it’s him?”

I lifted my gaze to the mirror, to those dark, empty eyes. Ones that looked like my brother’s. “I just know. He’s in trouble. I have to go.”

“Fine.”

I stiffened, then turned. “What do you mean‘fine’?”

She disappeared into the walk-in closet beside the bathroom. She wasn’t fighting.Xael has never not fought.I strode out to watch her from the doorway as she grabbed jeans, a shirt, and a thick jacket, then reached for a heavy bag stowed away in the back.

“I mean what I said, Mateo.Fine.”

I scowled as she walked past me and dumped the bag and clothes on the bed. “I’m coming with you.”

“Like hell you are.”

She turned to me. Only then did I see the fire, the one she’d kept from her tone. It blazed to the surface now, alive and consuming, like it didn’t just live inside her…like itwasher.

“Oh, yeah?” She growled. That tone was as dangerous as I’d ever heard…from anyone.

I steadied myself. There was no way she was coming. No fucking way I’d take her if there was even the slightest risk. “Yeah.”

She took a step. Even naked, she was powerful and glorious as she stopped in front of me and lifted her gaze. “Try and leave me. See what happens.”

I shook my head. “Don’t be stubborn.”

“Oh, this is not me being stubborn, Mateo. I haven’t evenbegunto be stubborn. This is me…your wife,going wherever you are.”

I moved closer, reaching out to grab her shoulders. “I have no idea where I’m going. I haveno ideawhat this is. I just know its’s him. This is that feeling I spoke about, that nagging feeling that something isn’t right.”

“Then we work it out together, Mateo. This…marriage isn’t one where you get to charge off into the sunset and leave me behind. If you wanted a wife who was going to be content with sitting here waiting for you, then you married the wrong woman.”

I flinched, shaking my head.

“Did you marry the wrong woman, Mateo?”

“No.” My answer was instant. “That’s the only thing I’ve ever done right in my life.”

She gave a slow nod, stepped out of my grasp, and moved to the bathroom door before stopping. “Do I have time for a shower?”

I stared at her, reeling…then slowly nodded.

“Good, I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.” She answered, then stepped into the shower and started the spray.

I watched her for a second before I lifted my phone. The woman made me feel off center, always pushing me beyond my boundaries. If I said settling down with her like this came easily, I’d be lying. I was made for war, but I was also made for her…which is where the battle lay.

I pressed the numbers on my phone and listened to my brother’s phone ring until it went to voicemail.