Page 46 of Positively Pricked
Chapter 15
His question caught me off guard, and I froze in mid-motion. What the hell wasIthinking? What kind of question was that?
I whirled to face him. "What?"
Standing in the shadows, Zane's eyes were hard, and his mouth was tight. "I told you that guy was trouble."
My jaw dropped. "You did not."
He stepped closer. "You want some advice?"
"From you?" I tried to laugh. "No."
"Yeah? Well, you're getting it, anyway." He looked toward the road, where the guy was already out of earshot. "When you know someone's trouble, you don't stand alone with them in the dark."
I made a sound of disbelief. "Well, that's rich."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, you've caused me ten times more trouble than the guard. And here I am, alone withyou." I gave him a thin smile. "So, if you wanted to warn me, maybe you should've warned me about yourself."
His jaw tightened. "Then consider yourself warned."
He was standing almost within arm's reach, and something about his statement – or maybe something about him – sent a shiver down my spine. And yet, to my extreme annoyance, the shiver felt warm, more like a caress than a warning.
And that only irritated me more.
My tone grew sarcastic. "Gosh. Thanks ever so much. Now, if only someone had warned me yesterday."
Before I'd lost my job.
Before I'd witnessed people getting tossed out of their home.
Before making this stupid trip out here at all.
In front of me, Zane said, "If you see him again, you avoid him." He gave me a hard look. "Got it?"
"Who? The guard?" I gave Zane a hard look right back. "You know that was at least partly your fault."
He looked anything but contrite. "Yeah? Why's that?"
"Because here, you act like he's a big raging pervert, but you never thought to do anything about it?" My voice rose. "Untilnow?"
He gave me another long look, but said nothing.
"I mean, come on," I persisted. "How long have you known?"
Zane moved closer until he towered over me in the near darkness. Already, I had nowhere to go, and it suddenly struck me that the guy standing before me now was a million times more dangerous than that stupid guard on his worst day.
I don't knowhowI knew. I just did.
Still, I refused to back down. "Well?" I said. "How long?"
"Before you showed up?" Zane's gaze met mine. "An hour. Maybe two."
I blinked. "What?"
"I had a visit."
