Page 101 of Wild Card

The mood is thick with wrath and testosterone. All of them wear the same expressions. Hard, cold eyes, jaw’s locked, faces set in a vicious glower.

Tension spans from Talon with each breath he takes. I rush to him, powering through the pain in my head.

“I’m okay.”

“That bitch will pay.”

“She’s not worth it.”

An angry growl rumbles from low in his chest. “She hurt you.”

“She took me off-guard and I tripped.”

“Because she is fucking crazy!” he roars.

Rowan closes in on Ford, curling into him. It’s a small gesture but one that obviously eases him. I try the same, lifting on my toes to kiss the underside of Talon’s jaw.

His arm hooks around my waist and he tucks me close, inhaling deep into my hair.

“Second time in a week I’ve found you lying on the floor.”

The raw, harsh emotion in his voice has my throat clogging again. “Always rescuing me.”

He squeezes harder.

“Honey, how are you here? Why aren’t you working?”

“Got off half an hour ago. Was about to run when we got the call you were here.”

“Who called?”

“That would be me.” Shayla raises her hand. “You sat in your car for a while so I alerted Ford. He pulled the video footage and relayed to Rowan.”

“Guess I know how you got my number,” I mutter, hiding my face in his shirt.

“Yes, I wanted to approach you, but with what happened…” She leaves the sentence open.

“I was on the phone.” I peek up to see if he believes my excuse. Relief sets in when there’s a slight glimmer of amusement on his features. “Bex was chatty.” It’s a bold lie, knowing my conversation with her was less than five minutes.

“For the record, I was set to let you and Rowan talk it out until we got the alarm something was wrong. Then Rowan messaged that a lady was harassing you.”

I take a deep breath and face the room. “In my past life, that insane being was my sister.”

“We got that,” Rowan says sympathetically.

“She’s never allowed to set foot in Rendezvous again,” Shayla announces.

“We actually owe you an apology,” Rowan offers. “You were assaulted under my roof.”

“If I wasn’t here, none of that would have happened.”

“Add gratitude to that apology. I’m severely allergic to demented, pretentious bitches. Who knows what would have happened if you didn’t decide to come in? My boyfriend hates the idea of bailing me out of jail.”

I flash Shayla a genuine smile. “Glad I could be of service.”

Talon fishes something out of his pocket and sends it sailing into Major’s hands. “Let’s get you home.” He bends as if to pick me up, but I retreat.

“I can walk.”

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