Page 81 of Ruthless King

Victor didn’t say anything, but Regent could sense him staring at him.

He turned to his brother. “What is it?”

“You like her, don’t you?”

“Just because I don’t want anything to happen to her doesn’t mean I like her.”

“You got her boss fired because she was bullying her.”

“Not yet. That will be happening Monday morning. Jardin couldn’t find anything on that bitch. So he had someone plant some things. Her boss will be getting a number of notifications by Monday morning.”

Then it was bye-bye, old bat.

“Right. And you went to all that trouble simply because Jilly has a tentative connection to our family.”

“She guards the entrance to the tunnels.”

“She’s not standing over them, protecting them with her life. And she gets to live in that house for free.”

“So I should just let her get bullied?” he asked incredulously.

“If it was anyone else, you would.”

“I would never allow any of our women to get bullied,” he snapped. He didn’t understand Victor.

“But Jilly isn’t one of our women. Unless you want her to be yours. And I think you do.”

“Save me the psychoanalysis,” he told him in a cold voice. “Just because you have Gracen doesn’t mean that I’m looking for a woman.”

“Gracen’s worried about you.”

Regent closed his eyes. So that’s what this was all about. Lord save him from concerned, sweet, sisters-in-law-to-be.

“Tell Gracen she doesn’t need to worry. I am fine.”

“If you say so.”

“I do,” he said.

The rest of the drive was in silence. But something was gnawing away at his gut . . . a need.

A desire.

To see her. To ensure her safety. Her care.

To make her his.

Was Victor right?

She constantly infiltrated his thoughts. When he wasn’t thinking about Patrick, that was.

He’d wake up in the morning and the first thing he’d think about would be her. Whether she was all right. If she was eating properly. If she was being safe.

It still annoyed him that she was taking public transportation. He’d attempted to send Jose around to take her to and from work. But short of kidnapping her and throwing her in the car, he couldn’t actually force her to take the ride.

Fuck.

Was he really treating her like she was his, as Victor had said?

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