Page 148 of Heart of Frost and Scars

“I won’t let you go.” He dips his head, his deep voice caressing my ear, conjuring erotic memories of his flesh against my flesh.

“If you don’t step back…” I lift on my toes and meet his molten, sapphire eyes. “I’ll show you what you paid for in my self-defense course.”

The corner of his mouth twitches, just barely, and his brows knit together before smoothing into a blank slate, erasing any readable signs.

Sliding his hands into his pockets, he returns to the helm as if the interaction never happened.

Immediately, I miss his body heat, and I hate myself for that.

31

Kodiak

—

Cold, hard, suffocating—every metallic clang in this stark, soulless box reverberates through my bones. I press my forehead against the steel bars, tracking the sound of Leo pacing behind me, the floor trembling beneath his fury.

Frankie’s gone. Vanished around the corner with her hand locked in Monty’s grip. The image burns behind my eyelids every time I blink.

I saw the way Monty looked at her, the possessiveness in his eyes, the triumphant curl of his lips. It was the look of a man reclaiming what he believes is his, a tsar asserting his dominance over his territory.

The cameras prove she’s safe to be with him. She’s forgiven him for the rest.

She no longer has a reason to hate him.

Where does that leave Leo and me?

I can’t stop replaying her walking away, the way she glanced back at us, her features ashen with anxiety and confusion and the faintest shade of something else.

Something softer.

Her feelings for Monty are changing, deepening, and she went home with him. Alone.

I sink my hands into my hair, fists clenching, tugging at the strands.

The memory of our day together—the progress with the renovations, the amazing dinner, delicious food, stolen moments of solace and passion—it’s all tainted with pain.

Leo removes his shirt and flings the blood-soaked thing into the sink.

The welted skin on his stomach twists as he leans against the wall opposite me, his eyes twin orbs of storm and fire.

Our scars run deep. Violence is our lifeblood. The eternal night will follow us forever.

“We fucked up.” A vein pulses ominously at his temple, a dark river of vehemence.

“Yeah.” I swallow, my throat raw. “But she’s safe now. That’s all that matters.”

“Safe with him. The man who betrayed her, who drove her into our arms.” Venom italicizes his words, but it’s pain and fear that turns them red.

He’s as scared as I am of what this means for us.

Monty loves her beyond the point of obsession. Just because he’s not the one threatening her doesn’t mean he’s not a threat to our relationship with her. He’s as protective and possessive as we are, if not more.

“He’s clean, and we’re not.” He presses the heels of his hands to his eyelids. “We ruined her night, made a whole goddamn mess of it, and the worst part is that we weren’t with her when she received that call. The stalker probably waited two months for us to make that mistake and leave her by herself. And we just handed her over to the man who’s been desperate to fuck her since the day he lost her.”

Every word hammers a nail into my heart. I slide down the bars to the cold floor, burying my face in my hands.

“She’ll forgive us.” My throat closes with regret.

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