Page 22 of Wild Card

I should have seen that coming.

He’s an alpha.

She’s a vulnerable omega.

I’m sure he just made it his life’s mission to protect her from me.

Fucking alpha instincts.

Too bad for him, I learned a lot about myself while I was undercover.

I’ll slit his throat and toss him in the harbor without losing a single wink of sleep if he tries to interfere.

Lennox is mine.

I’m not above murdering anyone who tries to keep her from me.

Chapter Seven

Lennox

My heart races, then skips beats, pounding in some erratic pattern that makes me feel like I’m about to die. Even breathing doesn’t seem to be working, since I can’t catch a solid breath of air to save my life.

My eyes ache, but I don’t believe Thorne deserves my tears.

He walked away with his hands in his suit pants pockets, like he didn’t have a care in the world, and I swear a little piece of me died that night.

I can comprehend that he was in a shitty situation. I get he had responsibilities to his job and that there was bigger picture stuff going on.

I just don’t know how to stop resenting him for the pain he caused me.

He made me feel like everything I thought was between us was nothing more than teenage infatuation.

And I’ve kind of always felt like I was more into him than he was me, so it hit on every insecurity that I obsessed about during our months together.

I can’t tell if I’m being unfair, because he broke my heart, or if I really do have the right to hate him.

I don’t realize I’m holding on to Rush’s forearm for dear life until he finishes unlocking the door to the room I’m staying in.

“Did you want to head inside? You’re frozen,” Rush says, running his fingers over the top of my hand that rests on his forearm. “I could feel it through my T-shirt, but damn, Lennox. You’re alarmingly cold.”

My head tilts as I look up at him.

His blue eyes sparkle like they always do, but there are little crinkles at the edges that I think might be due to concern. “Bear should have sent you off with a pair of gloves.”

My mouth falls open as I take a step around him and into the room.

They know each other?

I’m not sure why I’m surprised.

It’s a small town.

What happened last night will have already made the rounds, just like it would have in the small town I grew up in back in North Carolina.

“If I overstepped by asking Bear to keep an eye on you…” Rush frowns, and his dark blond hair falls over his forehead as he stares at the floor. “Then I’m sorry, but also, you’re still in soaking wet socks, and my instincts are kinda losing their shit about the way that guy had his hands all over you.”

“I’m not afraid of Thorne,” I say, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “The only thing he’s a threat to is my heart, but I don’t intend to let him close enough to break it for a second time.”

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