Page 128 of His Greatest Muse

“I’m terrified,” I admit, quiet enough I know Alec won’t be able to hear.

The fingers around my wrist flex, Noah’s control growing thin. “So don’t do this. Let me take care of it. Take care of you.”

“You always take care of me.”

“I was born to do that.”

I shake my head, my stare intense. “You were born for so much more than that, Noah.”

“You’re wrong, Golden Girl.”

Stubbornness may be a Hutton trait, but it’s also a Lowry one.

“I’m going to do this with you. You’re not the only one of us who was born to take care of the other.”

He closes his eyes and leans in, touching my brow with his. “Do you believe in soulmates, baby?”

I brush my mouth across his. “From the moment I first saw you.”

He tugs the phone from my hand, and I let him. Dropping my eyes between us, I watch as he unblocks Cole’s number and opens a text conversation. My chest grows tight when he offers it back to me, nodding slightly.

“Ruin him, Tinsley.”

I type the message and send it before I have the chance to change my mind.

Me: It’s time to officially meet. Or are you too scared to step out of the shadows?

47

NOAH

Even with my eyes open,I see his shadowed face in the dark pits of my subconscious. The sick twist of his lips before he spit blood into my face. I feel the hot brand of the knife in my side and the brutal twist of the blade when he yanked it free. Each memory is another reason to end his pathetic life. He sealed his fate the moment he began to watch her. When he grew to want her.

I will get answers from him tonight to every single one of my questions. He’ll tell me even when he’s choking on his own blood. I won’t have it any other way.

Tinsley’s phone is in my palm, her brief conversation with Cole illuminating the dark cab of the car. The headlights and radio are off. Only the air conditioning blows, but it does little to cool me. Sweat drips down my spine and between my brows. I’m vibrating, anticipation so thick in my blood it could clot my veins.

Unknown: Tell me when and where. I’ll be there.

Unknown: I want to see just you. Leave him behind.

Tinsley: Okay.

Then she sent him a location and ended the conversation despite his following messages. The ones I deleted just as quickly as they came in.

The building in front of us is still under construction, but the sign on the front was hung recently. Knockout Fitness. One of the newer Lowry boxing gym expansions.

“The alarms are off. Tinsley has the keys. Try not to burn it to the ground,” Braden warns from the back seat.

He’s leaning forward between the two front seats, one hand on each headrest. I can almost smell the fear wafting off him. It’s not a misplaced emotion. He has reason to be scared tonight.

“Thank you, Dad.” Tinsley turns to face him. She squeezes his hand and kisses his cheek. “Go home and be with Mom.”

I watch him from the rear-view mirror. The heaviness in his eyes is unusual for him. It tugs at his mouth and makes him appear older. He’s not used to having information withheld from him, and his daughter and I are keeping too many secrets. It’s blind faith and a shared want for revenge that had him agreeing to let us use his gym. If everything goes to plan, we won’t be here for long. No blood will be spilt on his floors. But it’s a safe space for Tinsley. Somewhere she can feel in control meeting her stalker for the first time.

He must have some idea of what we’re going to do tonight, but he hasn’t shared those ideas. I wouldn’t confirm them if he had. We’re going to do what the police wouldn’t dare do to Cole unless they were paid to do so. The money that would take isn’t worth losing the opportunity to be the one to punish him. Prison isn’t enough. It never will be.

“I love you, sweetheart. Call me when you’re finished here. Or before. If you need anything, I’ll be by my phone.”

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