Page 13 of Come Inside

Mateo had to force himself to not tighten his grip on the woman. He could tell she was fragile, tiny, small. Except she was also ferocious, and he didn’t doubt she could take care of herself.

Key in on the man with the bloody nose at the bar. The sight had been enchanting. He wished nothing more than to see her beat any man that came near her again.

But she wouldn’t need to anymore.

Mateo was here now.

AndLiam?He would be dealing with the man himself.

She continued on, not noticing the change in Mateo’s mood, his murderous intent.

“The fucking irony is I haven’t even used my own site, haven’t delved into my owndesires. I’m twenty-eight years old and barely even having sex. I’m terrified of putting myself out there and trying what I’m curious about. I couldn’t be a bigger hypocrite, constantly telling my bestie she needs to join it and explore herself, adventure into her interests.Meanwhile, here I am, not listening to my own advice. I think it’s time to do something…someone.” The last word was a husky whisper.

Mateo couldn’t control his reaction, he squeezed Yara tighter to him, grumbling into her ear, “And what is it that you want to try, little bee?”

She said something under her breath, he wasn’t quite sure he heard correctly.

He wanted to push her, have her say it again, but his eyes caught on the scars around her wrists. He hadn’t noticed them before.

He readjusted his grip, his hand moving her wrist back and forth.

Icy cold dread dropped into his gut. “What are these from?” he asked gruffly.

She twisted uncomfortably until their eyes met, hers were glassy, unfocused. “Car accident.” The lie was evident. “All of them are.” She shifted back around, reaching forward and turning the water off. “It’s time to let me out.”

These weren’t from a fucking car accident.

Who the fuck hurt this woman?

Anger and possession were worming their way into his skin, into his veins, into his blood. He hardly knew Yara, but he planned on changing that.

Chapter 10

Kazi

Kazi was seething. He had tried to track Yara’s phone earlier, but the signal stopped at the restaurant, until it pinged back to life at this hotel, before disappearing again.

He had been out of his mind with worry the entire night, thinking he had made a mistake in leaving her with Mateo. That something bad had happened.

That her stalker had finally escalated as Kazi knew they would.

He was almost positive Yara knew exactly who it was, so why hadn’t she told him?

His mind was a disarray of chaos as he pushed into the hotel room with the key the front desk had given him. Kazi wasn’t sure what he expected to see, but it wasn’t Mateo carrying a soaked Yara from the bathroom. Glancing around for any reflective items in the room, he found the TV broken on the floor.

“What the fuck?” Kazi hissed out before he could stop himself. He specifically said not to beobvious.

Mateo shrugged a shoulder.

Kazi thought Yara was sleeping, but she reached up a fist to punch Mateo. “Let me down you giant of a man. I hate being this far from the ground.”

Kazi could tell she drank but decided against mentioning it. “I brought you some clothes from our house.” He wouldn’t mention how he had torn up half their home in anxiety.

Mateo carefully put Yara on her feet before stepping back and folding his arms. Kazi attempted to quell his rising anxiety from being in the same room as the other man. Mateo was a killer, a torturer, afreak.

Except Mateo was staring at Yara like she was the only thing in existence. His eyes tracking her every move.

And she was fucking oblivious.

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