Page 41 of Afflicted

“I told you I was going to keep you safe, didn’t I?” I smile down at her.

“Hey!”

This fucking guy. I lift my eyes at the same time that Juliet jumps a little and casts a glance over her shoulder. Her stupid fucking boyfriend comes charging towards us, his features twisted with fury. Juliet backs away from me quickly, dropping her head, and rage leeches into my bones.

“You OK, babe?” He barks, and I want to backhand that fucking tone right out of his mouth.

“She’s fine,” I say.

“I didn’t fucking ask you.” He doesn’t look at me as he snarls out the words through gritted teeth, putting a possessive arm around Juliet’s shoulders. “Babe, are you OK?’

She nods, her eyes fixed on the ground. “I’m fine, we were just talking.”

“Well you don’t need to talk to him, you talk to me.” His voice is cloyingly saccharine.

“She can talk to whoever she fucking well wants to, mate.” I cross my arms over my chest. “If she wants to talk to me, she can.”

His head snaps towards me. “Actually, according to your own little fucking rules, you’re not allowed to touch her, and you’re not supposed to fraternize with us, remember?” His mouth curls into a grin as Juliet’s head drops further, her hair completely covering her face. “You’re supposed to stay right the fuck away from her,mate. So how about you do that, huh?”

“If she wants me to stay away from her, she’ll tell me. But the rules?” I take a step closer to him, and the certainty in his face falters just a little. “I’ve never much been one to follow the rules. So if you think some fucking by-line is going to stop me from talking to her, then you’ve got another thing coming.”

“King?” Anderson’s voice sounds behind me, and Matt’s face lights up with triumphant delight. “King, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“We won’t keep you,” Matt drawls, herding Juliet away from us.

I grit my teeth and turn to face my boss, who’s eyeing me wearily. He tilts his head in the direction of his office, turning on his heel as I begin to follow him.

“Close the door,” he says once we’re in his office, heading for the chair behind his desk. He loves to deliver a bollocking from the comfort of his leather chair, and I know I’m in for a bollocking. He heard every word I just said.

“Is something wrong, sir?” I try to keep my tone light.

He steeples his fingers in front of him and sighs. “You want to tell me what’s going on with that girl?”

“What girl?”

“Don’t play with me, King.” Anderson doesn’t raise his voice, he just keeps his expectant gaze fixed on me. “I asked you a question, and I’d like an answer.”

“The answer is nothing.” I shrug. “Nothing’s going on.”

“Uh-huh. Is that why Simpson found you showering with her?”

Those fucking words send a mental image straight into my brain, and this is definitelynot the fucking time. “We weren’t showering together.” Fuck, I wish that had been the case. “She nearly collapsed, she was shaking and going into shock. A hot shower seemed like a quick way to warm her up.”

“Right, and the fact you had your arms around her?”

Fuck you, Simpson, you fucking snake.I roll my shoulders, setting my jaw to stop any unwise words tumbling out. “I was holding her up. I told Simpson as much. She nearly collapsed. If she’d fallen and hit her head-”

“King, I asked what’s going on.” Anderson leans on his desk, his eyebrows raised. “Now, I want you to tell me what’s going on, not argue semantics. I just heard you tell that bloodbag out there that you didn’t care about the rules.”

“The guy’s a maggot.”

“A what?” Anderson rises to his feet.. “I gotta tell you, King, this sounds a lot like two fellas ruffling their feathers in front of the female.”

I laugh out loud. “You think I’m trying to show off to a bloodbag, sir?”

“Listen here, son, the way you’re talking to that guy and the way you’re talking to me now, it sounds like jealousy.”

“I amnotjealous of that fucking guy.” I am. I’m so jealous I can't think. I’m so jealous I annihilated a fucking punching bag imagining it was his face. The thought of him touching my girl, putting his grubby fucking hands on that body that he can’t even please - I’m so jealous I can barely fuckingsee. But I can’t admit that to my boss. “I’m simply trying to look after the humans. I take this responsibility seriously. Blokes like Braun, they see them as nothing but a blood supply. I see them as people, like we should.”

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