Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“Really? She had to ask? You didn’t offer?” Hayes turned to her. “I’m staying.”
Devi nodded. On a normal day, she likely would have argued. But not today. “I w-want him to s-stay.”
God. Maybe she should have said no. This was humiliating.
Jerry didn’t look happy, but he didn’t protest. “What were you doing here tonight?”
Huh? She worked here. Then she realized that he had directed that question to Hayes.
Dumb ass.
“Having a drink,” Hayes replied.
She wished that she sounded as cool and calm as he did. And not a blithering idiot who couldn’t get her words out.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working? Guarding the Steins?” Jerry asked.
So Jerry did know why Hayes was here in Angel?
Hayes raised an eyebrow. “Is this an interrogation? What does my job have to do with Devi being attacked twice in one night? Is this the way you’ve been talking to her? Is that why she’s shaking like a leaf?”
Jerry’s face darkened. Oh, he didn’t like being questioned, did he?
He stared at Hayes for a long moment, then he turned to her. Hayes tensed beside her. But Devi actually felt more calm. Jerry had been talking to her like she was the problem.
“I’m fine,” she said quietly.
“See?” Jerry said triumphantly. “She’s fine. You can go.”
“N-no.”
“No?” Jerry repeated.
“I want him.” She cleared her throat, realizing how that sounded. Please don’t let her be going red. “I meant what I-I said before, I w-want him to s-stay.”
Shit.
She’d hoped that stuttering would disappear now that she was feeling less on edge and . . . safer.
Yeah.
There was no denying that Hayes made her feel safer.
Jerry’s jaw tightened. “Fine. You thought it was a smart idea to go outside when you’d just been attacked. On your own?”
“No.” She rubbed her forehead. “But it’s never been a problem before—”
“You’ve done this before?” Hayes demanded.
“Um. Yes.” She winced at the anger in his voice.
“You’re not doing that again,” he told her firmly.
Irritation stirred and she welcomed it. Built it up. She needed it to stop herself from falling into him, from begging him to hold her.
“Pretty sure you’re not the boss of me,” she told him. “And you can’t tell me what to do.”
Yay her! Seemed all she had to do to get rid of her stutter was get angry. Sure, she shouldn’t really be getting mad at Hayes. And he wasn’t wrong. She wouldn’t do that again.
However, that wasn’t up to him to decide.
Hayes leaned into her. “Seems like you need someone telling you what to do.”
He spoke so quietly that she was fairly certain Jerry couldn’t hear.
Well, she hoped he couldn’t. He might get the wrong idea about what she and Hayes were to each other.
Which was . . . nothing.
“It was a dumb thing to do, Devi,” Jerry told her bluntly. “And Hayes is right. Don’t do that again.”
“How is this my fault? I didn’t ask to be attacked!” She blinked rapidly.
“You’re right,” Jerry said with a sigh. “Of course you didn’t and in an ideal world, you should be free to go where you want whenever you want. But it’s not an ideal world. There are things we all need to do to keep ourselves safe. We all have to think smart. Letting someone bigger than you, someone who hadn’t just been accosted by some asshole, put the garbage out would have been smarter, don’t you agree?”
Well, yeah.
Of course she did.
“I just needed to do something. I was . . . antsy.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
Hayes moved, shifting forward. Where was he going? Was he leaving? She didn’t want him to leave. But he simply drew off his shirt, leaving him in just a T-shirt. Turning, he unbuttoned it and drew it around her shoulders.
Wow.
Was he . . . was he trying to warm her up?
Well. It had worked. Her body was so hot that she felt herself flush. His scent swamped her, making her feel light-headed.
But she couldn’t take his shirt. She reached up to grab it, to pull it off her and hand it back but he put his hand on hers.
“Leave it.”
“But . . . you’ll get cold.”
He just stared at her.
“Something going on between the two of you?” Jerry asked abruptly, completely ruining the moment.
What a dick.
“Nope,” Hayes replied, not saying anything more.
Devi wasn’t sure she could talk, so she just stayed silent.
Jerry grunted. “My officers said that they’ve got your attacker secured. You caught him.” He turned to Hayes.
“Yep. Chased him down, caught him in a dead-end alleyway. Had two other people from the bar with me.”
“They said he was a bit beaten up,” Jerry said.
She winced. This was when Hayes got into trouble. How could she protect him?
“Was he? Must have happened before I found him. Like I said, I have witnesses.”
Jerry just grunted and she let out a small breath in relief.