Page 33 of Merciless Protector

“Shawn.”

I waited a second before saying, “Yes.”

“Do. We. Understand. Each. Other?”

I waited a second more. “Yes.”

“Good. Give the phone back. But remember, you don’t have long to find her.”

I folded the phone in half, cutting him off before he could give me a definitive date. Then I tossed the guy the phone, leaving him to catch it with his two empty hands as I shut and locked the door.

“Who was that?” Tayla said, entering the room wearing a robe.

There were enough things I was keeping from her. This wouldn’t be one of them. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Not anyone good.”

Her brow quirked up, and she folded her arms across her chest. So I glanced at the ground before continuing. “I told you before, I’m not a good guy.” She pursed her lips but didn’t grace me with a response. “The man I used to work for isn’t taking my desire to end our business relationship to heart. He’s basically given me orders from prison with an ultimatum I can’t ignore.”

“How did he find you?”

It was a good question. I shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s no way he had people following me all this time, and I didn’t notice.” Though inwardly, I wondered how well my head had been in the game.

“Do you think…?” she began.

For a second, I didn’t get it. Until I did. I shook my head because I couldn’t accept the idea. “When?” I said on repeat a few times. Then it hit me as my mind raced through memories I wished could remain long buried.

I refocused on her. “Check me,” I said, with words barely above a whisper.

She nodded and came over. As she circled me, I unbuttoned my pants. When she faced me again, she reached up to put her hands on my shoulders and then slid them down until she reached my hands. With my thumb hooked in my waistband and pressure from hers, the pants gave way to gravity.

Our eyes locked, and she used her hands instead of her eyes. Because of that, I felt and saw when she found something.

I nodded to her, and she took a step back and then moved behind me. Her touch would have gotten me hard if not for the dread I felt about what she found.

“You see something,” I stated, breaking the silence.

“You wouldn’t, by chance, have a scar here?” She touched a spot where my ass met my leg. Nearly the same spot I’d found the tracker on her.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

She pressed on the spot. “I can’t be sure that anything’s there.”

“We can’t risk it. You’re going to have to cut me open and see.”

Her movements stilled, and I turned to face her as she crouched on her knees. I reached down and tucked a finger under her chin. “You can do this.”

Her head shook, sending her wet, curly locks flying around her head. “Not here.”

I didn’t want to get blood on the bed, but she was right. She needed me face down. “Get the blade,” I directed and pointed at the counter. As she did, I got down on the floor into the prone position. It said a lot about how much I trusted her. I was more vulnerable in this moment than I would allow myself without being overpowered. With slow and even breaths, I kept the nightmares clawing on the inside of my brain at bay.

“Are you sure?” she asked, unable to mask her nervousness.

“I’m not sure of anything. But we won’t be safe until we know if I’m being tracked.”

It was silent then. Only the rustling of fabric as she bent down and got on her knees. My heart raced from ugly memories of the past as I tried my damnedest to remain still and not leap to my feet.

“I’m sorry,” she said, right before a biting pain chomped at the spot she’d pointed out before.

Too many seconds passed without her declaring that she’d found something. “You may have to open it a little wider to use your finger to probe for it.”

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