Page 28 of His Fury

I hesitated as I thought about it. “No. I don’t think they know we have a… That we know each other.”

Another pause. Another heavy, unbearable silence.

I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to stay still. Forcing myself not to react to the way the air in the room shifted. I still wasn’t looking at him, but I felt Zayn move.

A chair creaked. A breath was exhaled too sharply. I knew what was coming before I heard his voice. Low. Dangerous. Controlled in a way that meant he was anything but.

“Is there anything else?” he asked from behind me. “You’ve done so well, really well. Is there anything else?”

I clenched my jaw. I should have lied. But I’d come this far.

“When the big one came into the room where I was when you arrived, I never knew you were there,” I told him, my voice tight. “He said it seemed that Zayn McCabe would pay any price to get me back.”

More silence. But this time? It was explosive. I felt Zayn’s anger, sharp and deadly. Felt Julian shift uncomfortably, his guilt no doubt growing heavier by the second.

Rye was the only one who didn’t react. Instead, he studied me, his eyes assessing, sharp. “And do you believe them?”

I hesitated. My throat was dry. My hands shook. And forthe first time, I let myself be honest. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I think they believed it.”

That was the problem.

That they had seen something I hadn’t.

Or maybe it was something I wasn’t willing to admit.

Rye exhaled, his expression unreadable. “All right.”

And just like that—it was over. I let out a slow breath, only now realizing how tight my chest had been.

I had done it. I had laid it all out. But I still couldn’t bring myself to look at Zayn. I couldn’t handle what I might see on his face.

Not now.

Not yet.

So I stood up from the couch and looked down at Rye. “I need to go home.” I started walking toward the door, needing out.

“Isla.” Zayn’s voice stopped me cold.

I stiffened. But I didn’t turn around. Not yet. Not when I wasn’t sure if he was about to confirm what everyone else seemed to already know.

That they were right. That I mattered to him. More than I was ready to admit. Maybe more than he was ready to say.

“Thank you,” I told him, my back still to him. “I don’t think I said it.” The realization hit me with a sense of remorse. “Thank you for coming for me. Both of you.” I drew in a shaky breath. “But I can’t do this. This iswayoutside my comfort zone. I…” I exhaled loudly. “This is messed up. I was taken hostage. I mean…I’m aneventplanner. I’m no one. I’m just…I’m no one.” The tears were falling again. “I want to go home. I want to go to bed, and I don’t want to get up until Monday when I have to go to work.”

“You’re locked out,” Zayn reminded me gently. “You haveno way to get home and no way to get in when you get there.”

“You can stay with me.” Julian spoke for the first time, and my peal of laughter was the only answer he needed.

“You can stay at my house,” Zayn said, and I felt him getting closer. “Not here. It’s…rural. Secure. The only people who know of it are in this room.”

My head bowed as I stared at my feet. I didn’t even have my boots on. Where had I been walking? “Will I be alone?”

The silence was deafening.

“No,” Zayn said. “But you’ll be safe.”

“Zayn…”

---