Page 84 of Mountain Protector

For a second, I think Ed’s going to agree. He’ll agree and he’ll turn around and leave. Then I can lock my office door and try not to fall apart until Knox gets here.

Then.

Faster than I thought possible, Ed closes the distance between us and leans over my desk. He snatches up my phone and reads the text still displayed on the screen.

I know exactly what it says, because I just read it.

Thirty minutes away. Lock your door. Please. Enzo called the police.

Ed looks back up at me, and his whole demeanorchanges. Gone is blandly pleasant Ed. In his place is someone suspicious. Angry.

“Why do you need to lock your door,Lark?”

“No reason.” Sidling out from behind my desk, I start moving toward the door. “Just?—”

Think. For someone who’s supposed to be smart, I’m a terrible liar.

“Why are the police involved?” His voice goes hard. “Who’s on their way here? Your bodyguard boyfriend?”

“I don’t know. But yes, Knox is coming. He’ll be here soon.”

“Oh, Lark.” He grabs my arm in a punishing grip, fingers digging into my skin. Malice darkens his eyes. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”

“Stop it!” My voice rises as I pull fruitlessly at his surprisingly strong hold. “Let me go.Now.”

“Keep your voice down,” he hisses. “Or you’ll really regret it.”

But I won’t. I’ll yell. What is he going to do to me in here? Hit me? I can take it. And I’ve learned some self-defense skills, I can?—

No.

Ed pulls a small gun from inside his suit pocket and points it at me.

My lungs seize.

No.

No. This isn’t possible. This has to be some kind of flashback.

Ed can’t be standing in my office, pointing a gun at me.

“If you make a fucking sound,” he snarls, “I’ll shoot you right here.”

Acting on pure fight-or-flight instinct, my body tries to flee. I’m moving toward the door without even thinking.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Ed yanks my arm, jerking me back toward him. Then he jams the barrel of the gun against my chest. He leans close enough for me to see the little spot of stubble he missed shaving and to smell cinnamon on his breath. His eyes spark fire as he hisses, “I’ll shoot you, Lark. Don’t think I won’t. And then I’ll make it look like you killed yourself. Like the trauma of your recent attacks caught up with you.”

I freeze. My heart feels like it’s about to burst from my chest.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Lark. We’re going to leave. Together. And if you try anything, try to warn anyone, I’ll kill them.”

“How? Just in the hallway, you’ll start shooting? And you think you won’t go to jail?”

“No.” A sly smile lifts his lips. “I’ll tell them you’re having a breakdown. That I need help getting you someplace quiet. And then…” His teeth bare in a rictus of a grin. “Once we get someplace quiet,thenI’ll shoot them. And make it look like you did it.”

Oh.

Thisfear.

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