Page 7 of Problems

"Whatever."

Finnian dragged me close, his face inches from mine. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Fine," I spat. "Clear!"

Finnian released me. I fell back against the seat as he adjusted his glasses and slammed the door. If I was angry before, I was pissed now. My fists tightened as I stared ahead. Finnian took his seat, glanced back at me, and I returned his gaze.

"You can glare all you want. My job is to take care of you and make sure you're safe. I'm going to do that no matter how you feel about me. I suggest you let it go before you do something stupid. Like try to fight me."

I released my fists and decided to glare instead. Like I'd told my father, I was good with a gun. Fighting? Not so much. I spent my time at boarding schools getting my ass kicked when I wasn't at home. In college I didn't have bullies, but I didn't learn how to fight either. Whenever I tried, Dad lost his shit. He didn't want me to have anything to do with his life. Instead, he chose to shut me out; to make me an outsider. Not even his men respected me.

I was a joke.

An arm wrapped around my shoulders and tugged. I resisted Ronan's tug for a moment before I gave up. He pulled me to his side. I laid my head on his arm, staring out the windshield as the sun blasted landscape whipped by. All of my irritation drained away as Ronan's fingers pushed into my hair, scraping across my scalp. It always calmed me when he did that. It also made me insanely horny. I moved my head to lie on his lap.

"Jack," he growled.

I rubbed my face against his crotch. "Yeah?"

Ronan pulled me up and pushed me away. "Enough."

I frowned at him. "I was relaxing."

"Yes, well you lost the privilege didn't you?"

"Fuck, everything sucks," I groaned.

"Watch your language," Ronan snapped.

Oh fuck off.

* * *

I steppedout of the car to the house that we would be staying in. On the outside it was just like any other place, a nondescript place in some boring suburb with an HOA, rules, and annoying neighbors. I stared at it, hating every bit of its muted beige colors and perfect manicured rock lawn. A lizard skittered over the sidewalk and disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. A shudder ran up my spine.

I hate this.

"Get inside, Jack," Finnian said as he nodded toward the house. “Your room is in the middle."

"Am I supposed to know what the fuck that means?"

"Jack," Ronan called.

"Fine, fine."

I stepped into the house and wandered around. The house had a pretty simple lay out. A long hallway led to a kitchen and then dining room. I took a right. There were three bedrooms in a row. Between the center two there was a long bathroom connected by two doors.Yeah, no thanks.I kept walking toward the back of the house. Finally, I arrived at a huge room with high ceilings and an ensuite bathroom.

"Perfect."

There was a door that led to the backyard as well. When I glanced out, I saw nothing but a high, stone fence beyond the grass, pool, and hot tub. Private, quiet, safe. I plopped down on the bed. The air conditioning felt amazing, but I was already antsy. There was no sound in this small, Phoenix town the way there was in New York. It almost felt too insanely quiet.

"Get out," Finnian said as he stood in the doorway. "Your room is next door."

I sat up on my elbows. "Like hell it is. This is my room."

"No," he said shortly. "This room isn't in a good, tactical location. You'd be safest in the middle." He nodded toward the door. "Go."

My irritation hit an all time high. I stood up and stared at him. "No," I said firmly. "You've all forced me out here to live in this goddamn, hot, boring place. I'm not going to give up the room I want. Either do your job and protect me or tell my father that you can't."

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