Page 91 of Mine to Protect

“Cas,” I pleaded as I shoved against his thick thighs again.

His eyebrows rose with a silent question.

“I just don’t want to make this worse,” I said. “He already hates you because of me… us, and I don’t want him finding you like this.”

He crossed his arms over his chest but didn’t make a move to climb off me. “Like what?”

Exasperated, I pressed my head into the couch cushion and rubbed my closed eyelids. “Cas Mathews. You know exactly like what. You’re straddling me. Now get off.”

Even though it was my request—demand, more like it—I immediately missed his heavy weight as he climbed off the couch. Standing across the room, he leaned against the window.

“There was a note in the cabin,” Cas said, his shoulders tense. “We didn’t figure out what it meant until we realized Benny was missing.”

A pulse of tension inched up the suspense as Cas took a deep breath.

“It said ‘one down, two to go.’”

One down, two to go.

One down, two to go…

Oh.

Oh.

“You think he’s coming after you now?” My voice was so high-pitched that even I didn’t recognize it.

The two exchanged a long look.

“We’re not sure,” Chandler said. “But we do know you’re in his sights, and he’s willing to take out anyone who stands in his way. I’m still waiting on all the files from your last year in the Smokies, but there has to be something there. Something that pushed this guy, this team, to want you specifically.”

“When I asked him why last night, he only said I wasn’t bright,” I murmured, thinking out loud. “So it has to be something obvious. Even though I can’t remember anything, it has to be something big to have gotten his attention.”

“Or not,” Cas cut in. “It could’ve been big to him. To you, it could’ve been you stopping him from littering, or warning him about getting too close to the animals.”

“That happens every day,” I groaned. Sitting up, I tucked my knees to my chest. “How will I ever distinguish between the ones who were pissed because a woman called them out, those who were pissed because they got caught, or those who were crazy enough to think it had something to do with them?”

A warm hand settled on my knee. Looking up, I found concern and sympathy in Chandler's eyes. “When we first met, I said you were perceptive, and of all the things you’ve brought to light in this case, you continue to back that up, so I have no doubt you’ll know the difference. It’s just about triggering your memory. You got this, Birdie.”

I nodded, hoping his confidence in me wasn’t entirely off base like I felt it was.

“You need to eat,” Cas said, his attention back on me. As if my stomach understood English, it growled in response, confirming his assumption. “We have food here, or I can run out and—”

“Something here.” No way did I want him going out alone with a possible target on his back. Plus the thought of him leaving my side, me being vulnerable, made my pulse race. “Eggs?” I suggested, edging the word with a hint of hope.

“Eggs it is.” When he walked by, he paused behind the couch to press his lips to the top of my head. “Just so we’re on the same page,” he whispered. I glanced to Chandler, who was too busy doing something on his phone to pay us any attention. “If he gets within five feet of you, or says anything I take as offensive toward you, I won’t hold back as I’ve done in the past.”

I blinked. “Before was you holding back?”

“He’s not in the hospital, is he?”

I shook my head.

“Then yeah, that’s me holding back.”

For some messed-up reason, his words lit my blood on fire, making every inch of my body burn for his touch.

Behind me, pans and other things clanged around the kitchen.

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