Page 144 of Heart of Frost and Scars

“I’ll give you a few minutes.” He ambles away, lifting his phone to his ear.

A few minutes to what? Not make out with them through the bars? Is that what the warning was for?

Since he didn’t tell them about the threatening call, I guess he’s leaving that up to me.

Rubbing my lips together, I know I’ll tell them, even if it makes their jail time more excruciating. It’s what I would expect from them if our positions were reversed.

At least I can assure them I won’t be alone on the island with my stalker. The cameras proved Monty’s innocence.

I shift back to two pairs of livid eyes.

“What the fuck happened?” Leo clutches the bars. “There’s something you’re not telling us.”

How the hell do they read me so easily?

“Everything will be okay,” I whisper.

“Doesn’t answer my question.” His face moves closer.

So close I can count the specks of blood on his cheeks and smell the vodka on his breath.

He’s blood-soaked and brutal, ready to kill anyone who touches me. But as I stand in the laser focus of that vicious, otherworldly gaze, I’m wildly, inappropriately turned on.

Inappropriate, considering what I’m about to tell them.

“The stalker called me.” My tongue thickens in my mouth as I describe the call, the threats, and the computerized voice.

Shadows unfurl and seethe around them, their gazes flying to Monty.

“It’s not him.” I lean in until our mouths hover a hairsbreadth apart between the bars. “I checked the cameras seconds after the call ended. Monty was in the shower. When I called him, he left the bathroom to answer the phone.”

“So you trust him?” Leo asks through gritted teeth.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You forgive him,” Kody states. It’s not a question.

My emotions have been through the wringer so many times tonight that I’m surprised my heart hasn’t called it quits.

“The man you assaulted is in the hospital,” I say. “There are too many details to work out tonight. But Monty’s lawyers should have you out by tomorrow.” My voice fractures. “I love you both so much.”

“We love you, too.” Kody’s eyes soften, and he reaches out to touch my other hand. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be okay.”

“We’ve survived worse.” Leo sighs. “At least this prison has heat and indoor plumbing.”

“Let me see your hands,” I say.

They extend their busted fists through the bars, and the sight makes my chest ache.

Their knuckles swell beneath bruises and broken skin. Patches of dried blood surround the cuts, and their hands tremble from the pain and adrenaline still coursing through them.

The damage could be worse, but all this could’ve been avoided.

“You need to wash your hands and keep them clean from infection.” I nod at the sink behind them.

“You’re going to stay on the island alone with him.” Kody glowers at Monty, who stands out of earshot, talking to someone on his phone.

“Where else would I go?”

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