Page 119 of His Heart

Brooke

I sensedSebastian before I saw him. It wasn’t the door. I was too far away to hear it, or feel the gust of cold air. But my heart fluttered and I looked up, knowing he was there.

Tall and thick and strong. His presence sucked the air from my lungs and made my heart pound.

He stalked toward me, his face all hard lines etched in stone. His brow was furrowed, his dark eyebrows drawn together. His mouth was set, his shoulders rigid. It wasn’t anger in his expression, although it could easily have been mistaken for it by someone who didn’t know him.

Eyes followed him as he moved toward me. The bartender, in particular, had him in his sights.

I closed my notebook and turned on the stool. “What are you doing here?”

“Come with me,” he said.

The focus in his eyes was startling. Their shifting colors seemed brighter than usual, even in the dim light of the bar.

“Where?”

His voice didn’t change. Urgent, but almost monotone. “Just come.”

Something about the way he said it made him impossible to refuse. I dug in my little handbag and pulled out some money.

“You okay, miss?” the bartender asked as I tossed the bill on the bar.

“Yes,” I said with a nod, meeting his eyes. I knew what this looked like. Big, bearded, hulking man comes barreling into a bar, looking aggressive and scary. And he did. Even I felt a chill at the look on his face. But Sebastian was the last person in the world who would hurt me. “I’m good. I’m safe with him.”

“You sure?” The bartender’s eyes flicked to Sebastian, then back to me.

“Absolutely,” I said. “But thank you for asking.”

“All right,” he said.

I slid my notebook into my bag and got down off the stool. Before my feet were flat on the floor, Sebastian turned and walked away. He didn’t look back until he held the door open for me.

Still without saying a word, he walked to his car. I got in the passenger’s seat and fastened my seat belt.

“Where are we going?”

He didn’t answer.

We drove outside the city. His body was tense, his hands tight fists on the steering wheel. My nervousness grew as the lights of civilization faded behind us. Where was he taking me? And why?

He turned down a bumpy road. It was dark, so I couldn’t see much of the scenery. We followed the street as it wound around and finally came to an end. From there, he turned again and kept driving. Now I really didn’t know where we were. Not on a road. A twinge of fear ran through me. I didn’t understand what was going on.

The headlights lit the way, but ahead of us all I could see was black. It was as if the ground simply stopped. He kept driving, the black chasm drawing closer. When we’d almost reached it, he stopped the car.

He put it in park and left the engine running. “Get out.”

“What?”

He opened his door. “Get out and trade places with me.”

Bewildered, I got out and walked around the back. He stalked past me without saying another word, and got in the passenger’s side.

Glancing around, I realized where we must be. It looked like a quarry. And we were parked on the edge of a tall cliff.

I got in the driver’s side and shut the door.

“Sebastian, what’s going on?” I asked. “You’re scaring me.”

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