Page 224 of Red Marked

“Fine!” he snaps. “Fine. But you say those things and nothing else. Do you hear me? Nothing more.”

“Yes. I’ll say what I need to say to get him off my back.”

The phone stops.

We both look at the purse.

“He’s going to call again,” I say. “Or he’s going to come here. This isn’t like me, and he’s getting suspicious. I can promise you that.”

“You need to tell him that you’re back with your lover.” Jett’s voice has gone flat. “It’s normal that you’d miss a few early calls.”

“We’re due to leave in less than two hours. I’d have called him by now. You know I would have. You know what I’m like.”

He doesn’t answer. His jaw is tight, and a muscle tics in his cheek. He stares at the purse for a long time. Then he blows out a breath and nods once.

“Fine.”

He picks up my purse and puts it down in front of me, hard enough that the buckle clicks against the marble.

“Call him. But if you say anything untoward, anything at all, you’ll regret it.” He leans on both hands so his face is level with mine. “I know you don’t care about yourself as much as you should. You never did. But you care about Koda. I’ve warned him about speeding.”

I hate him.

I want to kill him with my bare hands.

“No.” I shake my head. “Jett, please. I won’t. I swear I won’t. Don’t hurt my family.”

“I would never.” He straightens up and spreads his hands, wounded. “You know I wouldn’t.”

He wouldn’t, but he would make a phone call. He’d send a message from an address that doesn’t have his name on it, and then he’d sit in my mother’s kitchen and hold her hand. He’d grieve my brother with her.

Shit.

I open my purse and take out my phone.

There are four missed calls and three messages. They are all from Flint.

The first one asks if I am still returning. The second asks if everything is okay and whether I’m coming back with him. The third, sent nine minutes ago, says:

Call me.

My thumb hovers over his name.

Jett has come around the kitchen island. He comes to stand next to me with his elbows on the marble counter. He’ll hear every word. There’s no such thing as a private call in a house with a dragon shifter in it.

I press call and put the phone to my ear.

It rings once.

“Hi, Star.” Flint sounds tired. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course.” I make it bright. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I hadn’t heard from you, and it isn’t like you.”

“I’ve just been reunited with my family.” I close my eyes. “I’m sorry. I got carried away, and I forgot to even look at my phone. We were up half the night talking.”

Jett gives me a thumbs-up.