Page 47 of Triple Power Play 3
Tonight is not my night to be a surly bastard. I clasp his shoulder. “Look at me.”
The weight of his anguish is palpable when his gaze meets mine.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you away, to where you feel you can’t trust me. Whatever it is, we’ll work through it. Just tell me.”
“That’s not it.” His eyes glisten, and he swallows hard. “I don’t want Aurora to know.”
I shift my hand to his nape. “Okay.”
“When something happens, you withdraw. She doesn’t need that.Wedon’t need that.”
I nod in agreement. “I won’t.” Then, for whatever reason, my impulsive fingers move from his neck to run through his messy hair.
He swats me away, scowling, and I smile.
“Sorry, it’s bugging me. I’ve never seen your hair like this.”
Unlike his usual impeccable style, it’s blah and lifeless.
His scowl deepens. “It air-dried. I’m not naturally perfect.”
I grin, even though, appearance-wise, he is quite perfect. “Wow, that must have killed your ego to admit out loud.”
He shoves my shoulder. “Can you not be an asshole, for once?”
“I dunno.” I shrug. “Do we need to hug this out, or you gonna tell me what’s wrong?”
All humor washes away, and he sighs. “I got a threatening text.”
Tightness grips my chest. “From who?”
He drops his gaze and clears his throat. “One of Kyle’s old partners.”
“Show me.” He makes no move for his phone. “Jax…” I warn in a low tone.
Reece steps closer, his hands up in a placating gesture. “Before you freak out, my entire team is working on it. She’s safe.”
“This is about Aurora?” I ask through gritted teeth. “Show me the fucking text.”
Jax unlocks his phone and gives it over, the message already open on the screen.
The floor shifts beneath me. With every word I read, my pounding heart becomes louder until it’s the only sound I hear. My lungs struggle to fill with air, each forceful breath slow and shuddering. A chill spreads across my skin like thousands of tiny electric shocks.
I lock eyes with him. Shame and torment reflect in his gaze, and my blinding anger subsides—slightly.
“You were planning to keep this from me?”
“Parts of it, yeah.”
“What the fuck? Why?”
He gives me a blank stare.
Am I missing something obvious? I reread the text. “This sounds like Kyle.”
“It’s not.” His temples bulge and release. “He didn’t call me pretty boy.”
“Kyle is most definitely dead,” Reece adds. “I saw his bloated body myself.”
