Page 59 of Viper

“Did you get a look at what he was driving?”

“Black sedan. No plate number.” He rattled off the make and model—information he’d also given the police. Outside that, they didn’t have much to go on.

She couldn’t think about any of it right now. The accident, the drugging, and now nearly being run over. It was all too much. She pulled her arms tightly around her midsection. Nausea sat high in her belly, adding pressure to every breath.

Troy’s warm, strong hand rested at the small of her back. “Come on. It’s time to go home.”

Home. If only she were really going home. She missed her townhouse, her bed, her clothes, and even her job as an office coordinator for Bark Group Engineering. It’d seemed wise to stay in Siesta Key with Troy, Atlas, and the team until Craig was caught. She didn’t want to be without protection. But now, part of her wanted to pack up and get on the next flight out.

She met Troy’s worried, scrutinizing gaze. Red and blue flickered over his face. He extended his free hand, and she placed her palm in his. He helped her to her feet and tugged the blanket from her shoulders.

Her exposed skin protested the lack of warmth. Troy must have sensed her chill because his arm quickly bundled her against his side. Atlas led the way through the little opening between two wooden barricades the police had set up, and they all walked back to the apartment building.

In the elevator, all the guys were silent, but their angry faces told her everything she needed to know. They were pissed. Each one of these protective alphas was likely feeling somehow personally responsible for the fact that she’d been targeted once again.

If she’d had more strength, she’d have set the record straight. Instead, she kept her lips sewn shut.

“Sis, call me if you need anything,” Atlas said, when the elevator stopped, placing a kiss on her head.

“Thank you,” she managed to say.

Troy led her down the hall and opened the apartment door, and she entered the space she’d left less than two hours before. She removed her shoes and stepped into the kitchen. The cool tile intensified the shivers that didn’t want to leave her bones.

A sickening realization struck her. “He clearly knows where we’re staying. Maybe we—” She found and held Troy’s gaze.

Pain ravaged his face. The angle of his jaw suggested it was ready to snap, and his brow hung so low she could barely see the fire blazing in his eyes. He grasped her biceps, his stare unbreakable and devastating.

“He won’t come near you again. I’m coming for him, you hear me?” The words came out on a vicious rasp. As though he’d been holding in his anger for days.

She blinked twice. Swallowed.

His mouth softened and his hands loosened. He swept aside a few strands of hair from her face, then cradled her cheek. He brought his other hand to her waist, pulling her against him. His solid strength wrapped around her.

Fierce protectiveness—no, it was more than that—possessiveness hardened the lines of his face. “I won’t let him take you from me.”

Emotion lodged in her throat. Her bottom lip trembled but before she could stop it, he pressed his mouth to hers.

“You’re mine, Paige. I hope you know it. Because there’s no fucking going back. Not for me.”

Her heart lurched and her brain grabbed on to every word. She needed more. Needed to understand. But everything she wanted to know was written on his face like their names in the sand.

Tears filled her eyes. She opened her mouth but before she could respond, he kissed her forehead.

“We’ll save the rest of this conversation for tomorrow. Do you need anything?”

She shook her head then reached for his hand and threaded their fingers together. “Can we just spend the night in bed?”

His mouth lifted into a sexy smirk. “Thought you’d never ask.”

She rolled her eyes playfully. “You’re like a horny twenty-year-old.”

“No, I’m a horny man. Big difference. A twenty-year-old wouldn’t have you screaming multiple times a night.” He bent and scooped her into his arms, cradling her against his chest.

“What are you doing?” she asked, catching his shoulder. As if she needed to worry he’d drop her. The man carried her as if she weighed fifty pounds.

He walked across the apartment. In the bathroom, he lowered her to the vanity and hit the light switch. He kicked the bathroom door shut, went to the shower, and flicked on the water.

Reaching behind his head, he gathered a fistful of his T-shirt and then hauled the material off. After shucking off his shorts, he came back to stand in front of her.