Page 37 of The Vigilant

“Matters to me.”

No. This was all wrong. This conversation.Him. I was supposed to be looking for Mara, who could be kidnapped or left for dead or…worse right now.

“Have you heard anything from Creed?” I wiped my hands on my shorts and went to get a fresh water from the fridge.

It was a dumb question. Tynan had been stuck to me like glue since the slicing incident at the White Pearl, so I would’ve seen him take a call.

“Not yet, but it’s hardly been a day. Once he gets out here, things will move fast.”

Mara might not have that kind of time.

I bit into my cheek until blood coated my tongue in metallic armor.

“Okay, I’m going to bed.”

For some reason, he didn’t sleep in the other bedroom, preferring to stretch his long limbs over the couch instead.

“Alright,” he sighed behind me. “See you in the morning.”

Anger surged at him. For getting close to me. For making me feel close to him. For turning around and reminding me that he didn’t trust me as far as he could see me.

I whipped around. “You don’t have to stay here another night.”

He met my eyes, unfazed. “I know.”

My teeth ground together. “I’d prefer you didn’t stay here another night.”

His jaw twitched. “And I’d prefer not to have to worry about you all night.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m not going anywhere, I swear.” I held up my hand like I was in court and swearing on the Bible again.

He stood frozen for a second and then shook his head. “I’m staying, Sutton.”

Dammit.

As my hands landed on my waist, I caught the quick flick of his eyes to me—to my chest. My nipples hardened like little excited traitors, wanting that raw ferocity of him just as much as I resisted it.

But maybe I could use both our weaknesses to my advantage.

“Fine.” I shrugged, letting one strap of my tank tumble down my shoulder.

The prickly heat of his stare followed me all the way to the bedroom until I shut the door.

He was helping me. Objectively, I knew that, but it wasn’t enough. I hadn’t told Tynan about the card Jack gave me because it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how he’d react. He’d look into it. He’d have someone look into it. They’d try to hack in or create a fake profile, and while it was possible those ideas could work—could get information—it was a risk. In my mind, this was a ransom situation. Did you call the police when doing so risked the life of the person you loved? No. You paid the price to make sure they were safe.

And in this case, the price I’d pay was signing up on this damn app as myself with the hope that I could find something on Mara.

I’d gone to the link a dozen times in the last two days, but I was afraid to start the log-on process when Tynan was here. What if he knocked? What if he came in? What if it did something to give away my plan?

But I would be lying if that was the only reason for what I was doing now.

I stripped out of my clothes, adding them to the small pile of laundry I’d do in the morning, and then grabbed the green robe.

Leaving it untied, I laid back on the bed, and a small sigh escaped my chest like steam releasing from a pot.

I stared down at my chest. Over the constellation tattoos that framed my breasts, my pierced nipples that peaked like north stars in the night sky.

My hand rested on my stomach, and I waited. Listened.

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