Page 91 of Protect Your Queen

She stepped off the podium, her white sheath dress reflecting the harsh midday sun. The man who helped her down the steps shocked the fuck out of me - Phoenix Asher.

He reached out a hand, and she took it as she walked down the stairs. He kissed her cheek, and she touched his face in an affection thatcouldhave been maternal, but it decidedly was not.

Hand-in-hand, the two walked away together, making no secret of their affair.

In a single statement, Stasia Dryden had controlled the story with a flourish that left me speechless.

“Did you sleep with my sister?” Jareth asked, his scowl turning cruel and menacing.

“What?” Yes. The answer was yes, but I wasn’t quite ready to let that cat out of the bag yet.

“Did you sleep with my sister?” He fisted my collar in his long fingers, twisting it until I felt the pulse in my neck struggle to keep pumping. “She keeps asking for you, and it’s not just because she cares about you as a fucking employee,help.Answer the fucking question, or I will break your neck, right here, in front of the entire hospital staff.” If I hit him Jestiny would never forgive me. I knew that. So I let my hands go limp at my sides. “Did. You. Sleep. With. My. Sister?”

Every word was drawn out, like I was an imbecile.

“I haven’t slept with Jasmine.” Yup. I’m an asshole.

I knew it. He knew it. Everyone else on the floor knew it. When he let go of one hand, and cocked it back to punch me, no one was surprised.

But I’m not a fucking bitch. I dropped down, ducking my head low, as he punched nothing but air above me. My drop twisted his other hand off my collar, and I was able to back out of his striking range.

“You’re fired!” He growled, ready to pounce on me again.

A thousand different things happened at once. Huge male nurses arrived, with security guards in tow. Trailing behind them was Detective Delgado.

“Mr. Barkada! I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” Detective Delgado stepped in where she wasn’t wanted. She gave me the most disgusted look, as she wrinkled her nose. “What is it about Caledonia Security and assault in a hospital?”

“Just good luck, I guess,” I mumbled, as I straightened my collar.

I looked down the hall in the opposite direction, to see her partner, Detective Rhys Tanner, leaning against the wall, his feet crossed at the ankles.

“I want this man out of the hospital, and on the fucking street!” Jareth waved that accusing finger at me as he addressed the nursing staff who looked absolutely terrified. “If I see you within a fucking mile of my sister, I will k–”

“Again,” Detective Delgado rolled her eyes as she idly flipped her badge open and closed in one hand as she smirked. “I wouldreallythink very hard about what you say next.”

Well, well… the Detective had a sense of humor after all.

“Don’t come near my sister again,” Jareth finally said, visibly turning his rage from a burning wildfire, into a cold, arctic freeze.

“Okay.” I wasn’t sure if I would be able to follow his instructions, but for right now, hewasmy employer and he had fired me. So that was that. Fighting to see Jes right now wouldn’t be good for him, or for me.

More importantly, it wouldn’t be good for her, and she was the one who mattered.

Still, my heart clenched. My arms felt drawn to her room, wanting to hold her one more time. But Jareth would never allow that.

“As for you, Detective,” Jareth spoke only to Detective Delgado as he walked into her space. She craned her neck to look at him, refusing to budge as he towered over her. “My sister will be making no statements. Neither will I. Neither will this fucking prick behind me. So find your sources elsewhere. You are not wanted here.”

Detective Delgado took it in stride, her face impassive.

“You are not above the law, Mr. Barkada.” Her voice was a low warning. A threat.

“You will not go anywhere near my family again, or I will make things very hard for you.”

“You already are very hard for me.” She smirked, and Jareth straightened.

She had called him out on something, and he had reacted. What the fuck was going on here?

“Have a good day.” Delgado shrugged and turned down the hall. “Come on, Tanner.”