Page 66 of Dangerous Devotion

I turned from the window, rubbing at the ache in my chest. And locked my gaze on Dante, who stared at me with so much empathy, I really couldn’t take it.

I gave him a sideways nod toward the door. I didn’t have time for stupid feelings. It was time I locked away my emotions and focused on the task at hand. I had work to do.

He got up, crossed the room, and moved to the already open door.

And, as if I’d conjured her up, there she was, my beautiful wife.

My very beautiful, very angry wife.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Ihurried down the hallway, my heart pounding with a mix of fear and desperation.

Dad had just dropped the bomb that Vince was sending us away—me, Mira, and Iset. To some secret Raptor headquarters, God knows where. Like we were fragile china dolls that needed to be tucked away for safekeeping.

In all honesty, I’d felt like a fragile china doll ever since I’d helplessly stared at Fee convulsing on the floor. I’d felt more fragile than I’d ever felt before—well, more fragile than I’d felt since Italy. And the threat of leaving, of being apart from Vince, made it all worse.

I couldn’t handle being apart from him. And this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. We were stronger together. He and I were a team now. How could he make this decision without even talking to me?

I reached his office door, my hand on the knob, ready to go in and beg him not to send me away. I opened the door without knocking, then stopped when I heard his voice, low and frustrated, drifting through the crack.

“She’s nothing but a distraction right now.”

I froze, my blood turning to ice in my veins. The words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs.

She. Me. I was nothing but a distraction?

Rage bubbled up inside me, hot and fierce. How dare he? After everything we’d been through, after last night, our wedding…after telling me he loved me, after giving me the impression he was truly considering us a team.

I wanted to kick the door open, to scream at him, to burst in and give him a piece of my mind. But I stood there, trembling, my hand still on the doorknob.

Was that all I was to him? A distraction? Someone he just pulled closer when he wanted or pushed away at his inconvenience?

I thought about Fee, lying in a hospital bed because she’d taken a sip of juice meant for me. Guilt and fear warred with my anger. For a split second, the old feelings of guilt took over.

Everyone close to me got hurt because of me.

But no! I refused to think that way anymore. Nothing I did caused that situation. Nothing I did could’ve prevented it.

I wouldn’t guilt myself anymore, and I wouldn’t let Vince push me away—not like this, not when we’d barely begun our life together.

Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders, pushed open the door, and came toe-to-toe with Dante, who, after taking one look at me, side-stepped me and vanished faster than a rabbit on the run.

Vince’s eyes immediately locked onto mine. The surprise on his face quickly morphed into a guarded expression as he took in my furious stance.

“A distraction? Is that all I am to you?” I said, my voice trembling with anger.

Vince’s jaw clenched. “Jemma, you shouldn’t be here. I’m in the middle of?—”

“I don’t care what you’re in the middle of,” I cut him off. “You don’t get to make decisions about my life without even talking to me first. I’m your wife, not some pawn you can move around at will.”

He stared at me, then ended the call, and crossed the room until he towered over me with his imposing frame. “This isn’t up for discussion. It’s for your own safety.”

“Is it?” I snarled. “Then why did you just tell whoever was on the other end of that call that I was just a distraction? Which is it now? For my safety, or for your ability to focus?”

He glared at me.

“You’re pushing me away because you can’t handle the fact that you actually care about someone. It’s easier for you to pretend I’m just a distraction, isn’t it?”

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