Page 70 of Ronan

“Ronan,wait! He knows something about mates!” He becomes shock-still, blood from his shoulder continuing to trickle down his torso and soak into his pants. “Damn it,” I mutter. Jeans are difficult to come by, and that pair was basically a love letter to his ass.

“Hewhat?” Ronan’s voice has become so deep, it’s barely more than a rumble from his chest.

“He knows something, so please don’t choke him. Today’s not the day to break another man’s neck.”

“Another?!” Reyes squeals.

Huh… I had no idea a man’s voice could reach such high notes.

Fascinating.

“Put the bad man down, Ro.”

“Bad man?Bad?!” Reyes demands as his feet touch the ground. Ronan doesn’t release him, but he allows him to catch his breath, and for the first time, Reyes appears less terrified and has regained some composure. “Do you understand how many humans I’ve seen at the whims of an evil monster? How many times I’ve had to sit back and do fucking nothing while they’re mistreated? Abused?Worse?! For once, I saw a chance to do something right. I amnota bad man.”

Hesitation creeps into Ronan’s face, the tension in his arms faltering. I walk closer, putting a gentle hand on his arm. “He’s got information we need. Why don’t we go inside and have a nice, civil conversation?”

“A conversation?” Ronan flashes his fangs as he gives Reyes a threatening smile. “That’s an excellent plan. You will tell me what I need to know, including how many of your friends are aware of our presence.”

“It’s just me,” he insists, hands in front of him with his palms out. “Little ol’ harmless me, all alone. No one else.”

“Ronan, I don’t think he’s a threat. Let’s head inside, I’ll stitch you up... again... and we can hear his story.” The contradictory nature of those statements is stark as they leave my mouth, but I hope Ronan is too distracted to notice.

“Fine,” he mumbles, the words strained. They’re clearly a concession for my benefit. “But he stays tied up while we’re…talking.”

“Stop saying it as if there’s a secret, nefarious meaning,” I scold, and he scowls at me. “You’re trying to sound like a villain, and while it’s honestly kind of adorable, it makes him think you’re actually an evil monster.”

Reyes pingpongs between us as his brow scrunches. “This is not what I was expecting to happen.” Ronan’s glare causes him to cast his eyes to the floor.

“Come, prisoner,” he commands, and I sigh and shake my head. All things considered, it could’ve been a lot worse. “Choose your words carefully, and I might yet let you live.”

Yeah, okay.

Or not.

Chapter 22

Ronan

Cameron stands behind me, cleaning my shoulder while I stare at the rebel human.

He’s brave, I’ll give him that much, but obviously an imbecile. Anyone who stabs an Anunian with such a small knife and counts on a knock to the head to keep them down deserves to be slaughtered.

If I hadn’t been so distracted, I would’ve heard him coming long before he got within arm’s reach, and we could have lunch without the needle digging into my shoulder. A ragged breath hisses from my clenched teeth as Cam pours alcohol straight into the wound. “Sorry, Ro, I know it hurts,” he murmurs as he presses an apologetic kiss on the back of my head. “I’ll do my best to be gentle, but I’m not very good at this.” My fingers squeeze the edge of the table so hard the wood groans until the sting subsides. “Was tying him to the chair really necessary?”

I glance at Reyes again. “Be thankful it’s only his legs tied to the chair.”

Cameron twists around my body, his eyebrow arching in challenge. “Did I just hear you wrong? Are you claiming that is all you did?”

Reyes watches us warily as I wave my hand in his direction. “Clearly, his ankles are the only part of his body that’s bound.”

“Hmm… interesting… very interesting. Do you, perhaps, want to knowwhyit’s interesting?” I cross my arms over my chest and glance away, but it doesn’t stop him. “I’ll tell you why. If my memory is correct, when I came in with the medical kit, that maybe wasn’t the case, was it? His hands were tied behind his back, a rope bound his legs from his ankles to his thighs,anda towel was stuffed in his mouth.”

I refuse to look at him.

His giant, pouty puppy dog eyes already made me untie the rebel, and now he’s trying to convince me to feed it. Boomerang marches into the kitchen, having slept through the morning drama. Her tail thwacks against the ground as she discovers there’s a new person to visit. Brown eyes wide and conniving, she places her head in Reyes’s lap.

“Don’t touch my dog,” I snap, and his hand freezes midair.

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