Page 114 of Traitor

The door slams open.

My head turns slowly, like I'm moving underwater.

He stands there. Breathing hard. Eyes dark as war. Every muscle in his body coiled, lethal. Ready to strike.

Bones.

He shuts the door right in Amy's face. Then he moves. Slow, deliberate. Like he's approaching a wounded animal.

I don't move. Can't move.

He reaches me, turns my chair toward him, crouching in front of me. His hands find my face, warm, firm, commanding. He forces me to meet his gaze, his thumbs brushing my damp cheeks. Anchoring me.

"It's going to be okay," he whispers. "I promise, Temper. I'll make sure of it. He will never have even one chance to get near you again. Never."

His arms wrap around me, pulling me against his chest.

"Never," he repeats, voice thick, solid.

I don't fight him. I should. I don't.

I stay curled into his embrace, still frozen, still breaking. His hand moves up and down my back, a slow, soothing motion, his body a wall against the storm in my head. He feels like a shield.

And for a moment, just one fleeting moment, I let myself believe in it.

Pretend.

Pretend that he never betrayed me. Pretend that I can still trust his words. Pretend that he will protect me this time.

The door opens again.

Bones lifts his head, voice a command. "She's in shock. You need to take her home. She'll respond better to you than me. I'll take care of the other problem. Just make her rest."

Ria.

Her voice is small. Worried. "Yeah, I'll take care of her."

22. Luca

Bones

The clubhouse is a storm, a beast of motion and sound as we put the plan into place. But my mind? My mind is elsewhere.

I need to get back to Temper. See how she's doing.

I should have probably stayed away. I know I’m the last person she’d want near her when she’s vulnerable. The last person who’d bring her comfort. But the second I got the news about Jinx, I couldn't fucking stop moving. I needed to see her. Feel her. Make sure she was okay.

She was so quiet in my arms. She was never quiet before. Not even the night of my betrayal. She didn't stop trying to change my mind even in the last fucking moment.

A sharp pain stabs through my chest.

Fuck. I can't go there. Not now. I have a monster to hunt. Jinx should have just accepted his fate. If he had, his death would have been a hell of a lot less painful. He'll be wishing for the electric chair. He made a mistake with the appeal. A fatal one.

The FBI had their chance and the fucker is still breathing. Now?

Now it's my turn.

I'm about to call Church when I see him.

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