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Shane’s big hand wraps around my bicep and he says “hey,” to get my attention.
I look at him, my eyes wide with panic.
“Breathe,” he says firmly. “Deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”
I try to follow his instructions, but the fear overpowers me, and I start to shake. Tears fill my eyes. I can’t hold it together anymore.
This isn’t fair.
I was supposed to have a fresh start here. I wasn’t supposed to feel like this ever again.
Shane reaches out and gently touches my face, trying to get me to look at him. I do, and he says, “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”
I want to believe him, but I don’t.
I’m not safe. I’ve never been safe, and maybe I never will be.
Chapter Thirteen
Killian
“Who the hell are you?”
I stalk right past the girl in pajamas with her hand on her hip and her eyes wide with outrage as we burst into her apartment. Hex hangs back to explain things to the roommate, but all I can focus on is finding Brynn.
The apartment isn’t big. There’s a tiny ass living room that collides with the kitchen. The short hall to the right seems to lead to the roommate’s room, so I’m guessing the hall to the left past the kitchen leads to Brynn’s.
The bathroom door is open, the light still on.
The next door hangs open, too, just enough that I can see a bed with soft purple bedding.
That’s gotta be Brynn’s room.
Surveying the scene as I approach, I note splintered wood on the doorjamb where the metal plate used to be. Someone definitely forced their way into this room.
I push the door open and step inside, then my blood fucking freezes in my veins when I see Shane crouched down next to her, touching her face. Brynn is naked, and my heart fucking sinks.
Logically, I know he isn’t doing anything to her, but illogically, my brain is looking at the puzzle pieces—she’s naked, he can see her, he’s touching her fucking face with some kind of tenderness—and I want to rip him away from her and throw him out the fucking window.
Mine, growls something reckless and fucking insane buried deep inside me.
It takes all my restraint not to snap, “Get away from her,” but he looks back when he hears me come in, and it must be written on my face.
He drops his hand and stands.
“Why isn’t she wearing clothes?” I demand, my anger at the situation seeping into my tone.
“I don’t know,” he says, shaking his head slightly. “I just got here a couple of minutes ago. This is how I found her.”
“Did you bust the door in, or did he?”
“I did. She wouldn’t open it, and I didn’t know if he was in here with her. He wasn’t,” he assures me, so I don’t have to ask. “He must have split before I got here.”
I swallow, bending to grab the dropped towel on the floor, then I walk over to Brynn and crouch down so I can wrap it around her and cover her up.
This close, I see that she’s not completely naked. She has panties on, just nothing else.
A cat I’m guessing is Toast prances over and rubs against her legs before walking around and forcing its way into her lap.
