Page 20 of Whispered Desire

“I’ll deal with her. You finish packing.” Mathias edges me aside to face off with Bailey.

Oh, no.

It takes me a couple of tries to zip the stuffed suitcase closed, due to shaky hands, but once it’s sealed, I swing it onto the floor and race out to the living room, forgetting to spare a final glance toward the bedroom I’ve slept in for the past five years.

“Who the fuck are you?” Bailey’s high-pitched screech sends the dogs into a barking fit. They’re desperate to burst free from confinement and protect their owner.

Frankly, I’m surprised the thin plywood door is holding them back. They’re both large enough to break through if necessary.

“Who I am is irrelevant. All you need to know is that your free ride ends today. Allie is leaving, and you won’t be seeing her again. If you try to contact her, attempt to guilt her into saving your lazy ass again, you won’t like what happens,” Mathias growls, and I swear I might swoon on the stained carpet.

This man is taking his job seriously, and another round of tears threatens to unleash because of it. When was the last time someone stood up for me?Literally never.So, this is a welcome change, even if I should be wary of him.

“Allison?” Bailey’s eyes find me striding down the hallway. I attempt to pass Mathias, but he shoots an arm out to block my path.

“Stay behind me,” he warns. Tension ripples over his sharp features and broad shoulders. An avenging angel.For me.

A shiver of pleasure raises goosebumps on my skin, but I can't let him deal with Bailey alone. “It’s fine. She’s not going to hurt me.” I try again to shove forward.

Mathias widens his stance and glares down at me. “I said, ‘Stay. Behind. Me.’” The low command ignites a flare of heat in my veins. No one has ever been this protective of me.

I’m always the self-soothing, self-reliant,self-everythingperson. It’s my duty to protect them, not the other way around.

“Allison, seriously… What is going on? Who is this guy, and why is he acting like you’re some kind of domestic victim escaping abuse?”

“Because she is,” Mathias says, taking an intimidating step closer to Bailey. “Allison bore the burden of caring for you and your menagerie of animals for years, and you’ve let her, despitethe detrimental effect it’s had on her. You may not have caused physical harm, but you’ve done damage. I don’t know if you’re a selfish bitch, or maybe you’re truly dumb and blind enough to not see it. Either way, this ends now. Get off your fucking ass and take responsibility for your life. No one else is going to do it for you. And Allison sure as hell isn’t going to shield you from the consequences of your actions anymore.”

He turns to me and wrests the suitcase handle out of my hand. “Let’s go. We’re done here.”

I nod, dumbstruck by his fervid defense and struggling to figure out what to say as we walk by Bailey. We’ve been friends for a long time. Shouldn’t there be a final farewell? A proper closing to our friendship?

Mathias handled it for you.

Just like he said he would.

I meet Bailey’s pissed glower and sigh in acceptance. Our connection is severed. I’m no longer trapped. I’ll send the money to complete the lease because of who I am not because of who she is, then that will be the end of it.

The winter chill washes over me like a refreshing dip in the pool on a summer’s day. If Mathias didn’t have a hold on my hand, I’d likely soar into the sky, free as a bird.

Because that’s how I feel—free.

Even if I needed to put myself in Mathias’s hands to get there.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

MATHIAS

We arrive at the private airstrip twenty minutes later, and that’s when Allison breaks the quiet contemplation she fell into after we left her apartment.

“Why are we here?” she asks, nervously sipping the bottled water I gave her earlier.

“To fly to Boston.” I finish emailing my lawyers that we need to push our meeting to later tonight. Once we arrive in Boston, I’ll need to get Allie settled before heading into the office.

“What? I thought we were driving to a new apartment complex. Not leaving the state! People will worry. My coworkers, friends.”

“You mean friends like Bailey who take advantage of you, or the ones from Paris who deserted you after you were fucking shot?” I don’t pussyfoot around with laying out the facts. Allie’s life needs an overhaul from the living situation to her friends.

Although a group of men known as the Blackchapel Bastards may not be a good replacement, it’s what she’s got.

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