Page 22 of Dangerous Desires

His brown eyes looked at her, dazed and confused. His thick, bushy eyebrows were pulled down over his eyes, casting a deep shadow onto his skin.

“Malik,” Birgitta repeated. “What’s happening?”

By then, Kent had joined them in the middle of the room. He stood behind her, just a couple of paces away. Birgitta could feel all the eyes in the room staring at the three of them but she didn’t care.

Let them look,she thought.Let them stare.

“Malik,” Birgitta shook him, trying to bring him back to the real world.

No matter how hard she grabbed him, she could still see that he was removed from reality. He was far away, buried in the depths of his own mind.

“Malik,” Kent whispered, leaning forward. He was more subtle, trying to lessen the damage that they had already caused.

“Tell us what’s happening,” Birgitta said, her voice rushed and throaty. “We can’t help you if you don’tspeak.”

Something clicked for Malik then. His eyes snapped to hers and his hands found her arms, gripping onto them so tightly that she thought he was going to snap her bones in two. Grimacing, she tried to squirm out of his grip.

“Malik,” she breathed. “Tell us what’s happening or let mego!”

“They’re kicking us out,” Malik growled, leaning down to let his eyes stare into Birgitta’s. “They’re kicking us out of the country.”

Birgitta’s heart stopped in her chest, dead. No matter how much she willed it to continue beating, it wouldn’t. It stayed there, hanging heavy and cold in her chest. A lump formed in her throat, making it hard for her to even breathe. She could no longer feel the pressure of Malik’s hands on her arms. It was so distant to her now, so far away.

The only thing on her mind was the idea that Malik was going to be taken away from her. They’d only just reconnected—only just started to feel things for one another—and now he was going to be taken away? No. She wasn’t going to allow that to happen. She couldn’t be left with the constant, nagging question ofwhat if . . .

“It’ll be okay,” Birgitta said. “We’ll work this out.”

Malik let go of her arms then, almost throwing her backward. Birgitta stumbled as she tried to regain her balance. Kent instantly came to her aid, his hands steadying her as they planted on her arms and back. She tried to move forward but Kent anchored her in place, trying to keep her away from Malik. Birgitta wanted to slap Kent’s hands away. A deep need inside her started to grow. All she wanted to do was comfort Malik, to hold him in her arms as she soothed him.

“How are we going to work this out?” Malik shouted, waving his arms up into the air. “Huh? How are we going towork this out?”

Kent took offense to Malik’s behavior then. He pushed Birgitta behind him, protecting her with his body. Whatever meek little man he had been vanished, replaced by a strong protector.

For a moment Birgitta didn’t understand how Kent had suddenly grown balls big enough to stand up to a man as big as Malik. It didn’t take her long to realize that it had absolutely nothing to do with Kent and absolutely everything to do with Malik.

A man like Malik brought out the anger and violence in other men. No matter how deep it was buried, Malik would bring it out. There was something about having such a strong alpha male right in front of them. They either rose to the challenge or sank away into the shadows, their tail tucked between their legs.

“Don’t talk to my wife like that,” Kent’s voice rumbled.

Birgitta wanted to position herself between them to stop them from fighting, but Kent kept his hands clamped on her tight. She shifted in his grip, trying to free herself, but it was useless. Kent wasn’t going to let her go.

“There’s no need,” Kent said. “We’re just trying to help. So, why don’t you calm dow—”

Malik screamed out and raised his clenched fists to the side of his temples, his arms shaking violently. Birgitta managed to break free of Kent’s grasp and wedged herself between them. Her hands instantly went up to Malik’s, taking them gently and prying them away from his face. She cooed at him, whispering that everything was going to be fine.

Somehow, it seemed to work. Birgitta managed to draw him away from the center of the church, bringing him around to an empty corner. She shushed him gently, rubbing her hands up and down his strong arms. Eyes were boring into her from every angle but she paid them no attention.

“Tell me what happened,” Birgitta’s voice was so soft she could barely hear herself, but Malik seemed to be able to.

His eyes locked onto her lips. The air between them turned electric, blue sparks flitting across her vision. It felt like there was a magnet in her stomach, drawing her close to Malik’s body. Her heart ached for him. All she wanted was to take his pain away but she couldn’t do that unless he told her what was wrong.

“The migration board,” Malik’s voice trembled. “They’ve reversed the decision.”

Birgitta’s heart fluttered in her chest at the mention of her workplace. A heavy spiral of fear erupted in her stomach, pulling everything in her body down like a vortex. She could feel all of her organs being sucked down to the ground. Within a second her head was spinning as she thought about what this all meant.

For one, it meant that the appeals process was going to be long and expensive. If it went on for too long, the government still might remove him from the country, returning him to his homeland while they reviewed his file. Every inch of Birgitta’s body screamed out at the idea of him being deported.

No,she thought.It won’t happen.The only good part of this was that she worked for the migration board. She could easily look up his file and take a peek inside. It wouldn’t be very ethical, using her position to help her friends, but she didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was that Malik would be able to stay in the country. He needed to stay—hehadto. There was no other outcome she’d accept.

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