Page 9 of Claimed By Him
I snatched my hand away, cradling it to my chest. “It’s nothing.”
His expression darkened, the playful smirk replaced by something far more dangerous. He reached for my wrist again, his touch surprisingly gentle as he traced the scars with his thumb.
“Who did this to you?” he asked, his voice low and rough.
“No one,” I snapped, yanking my arm free. “It doesn’t matter. Just let me go.”
“It matters.” His tone was sharp, brooking no argument. “Tell me, Jade. Who hurt you?”
I shook my head, backing away until the wall pressed against my spine. “You don’t get to ask me that. You don’t get to—”
“I’ll let you go,” he interrupted, his voice turning fierce, “after you tell me what you’re running from.”
So he finally believed I wasn’t a spy.
I could’ve laughed, but I didn’t. It hurt too much to.
For a moment, I considered telling him the truth, letting him see the darkness I carried. But then I remembered who he was—what he was—and the walls I’d built slammed back into place.
“You don’t scare me,” I lied, meeting his gaze head-on.
His lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile. “Liar.”
It was true, I just never thought I’d ever have a reason to tell the truth about Evan.
Chapter 4
Damian
The moment I saw the scars on her wrist, everything shifted. It happened last night, while I was untying her from my belt.
I felt sick the sickened I realized.
They weren’t new—faint and pale, barely visible against her smooth skin—but I’d seen scars like that before. On my mother… on women I’d pulled out of some crackhouse’s den. My initial fury, the suspicion that she was a threat to my empire, dissolved into something darker and it should’ve pissed me off that I hadn’t found my spy. But it didn’t.
“Who hurt you?” I repeated, my voice sharp.
Jade’s back pressed against the wall, her breathing shallow, her wide eyes darting between mine as though searching for a way out. “I told you, it’s nothing,” she snapped, her voice frayed but defiant.
I’d made her like that when I accused her of something she hadn’t done—but if I’d known about the scars, I would’ve done things differently anyhow.
“Don’t lie to me,” I growled, grabbing her wrist again and holding it up. Her pulse fluttered wildly beneath my thumb. “These are from handcuffs, Jade, and it takes a shit ton of abuse to get them to scar like this. Who did this to you?”
She jerked her arm free, clutching it protectively to her chest. “You don’t get to ask me that,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “You don’t get to—”
Her words faltered, and for a moment, I thought I’d broken through. But then the walls went up again, her chin lifting in stubborn defiance.
Damn it, Jade.
I stepped closer, crowding her, my body blocking her escape. “You’re hiding something, and I’m done waiting for answers. I’ll find out whether you tell me or not.”
Her lips parted to argue, but before she could speak, my phone buzzed in my pocket. The sound snapped through the tension like a whip. I fished it out, not breaking eye contact as I answered.
“Riley,” I barked, my tone clipped.
“We dug into Calloway’s past,” Riley said, his voice cautious. “And we found something. She’s been using aliases, moving every few months, and her records show restraining orders—three of them, all filed against the same guy. Evan Hunt. He’s bad news, boss. Real bad.”
Evan Hunt. The name burned into my memory. I’d never met him before, but I could easily guess what kind of a man attracted a younger, naive Jade. Probably one of those smug, golden-boy types who thought his power and money made him untouchable.
