Her breath caught.
“It’s payback time.” She should be aware of this. “I’ve been good as long as I could be, but those photos—the dick’s obsession with you…” His teeth ground together. “Knowing that Dylan hired the PI to break us up…yeah, that shit can’t go unpunished.”
Her body had tensed. The wind picked up a lock of her hair and tossed it across her forehead. “What are you going to do?”
“I think Odin’s mom would say I’m gonna have a come-to-Jesus meeting with him.”
“What?”
He smiled. “He crossed the line. He doesn’t get to do that.” He doesn’t get to stalk you. Doesn’t get to make you feel uncomfortable or scared or any damn thing.
“War—this isn’t the time to go all alpha, jealous angry on me!”
He thought it was precisely the time to do that. But… “I’m not jealous. I trust you. Completely.” She should understand that. “This is about making sure he gets a message.”
“What message would that be?”
“That he doesn’t fuck with you and he doesn’t fuck with me.” Simple enough. “And there’s a price to pay.” His hand fell away from her cheek.
Her hands immediately flew up to press against his chest. “Don’t do something crazy. If you wind up in jail, what will I do?”
“Aw, Rose…sounds like you’re getting sweet on me again.”
“Sweet?” The one word was sharp. “Did you just say that to me?”
He had. “I won’t go to jail. Don’t worry.” Not his first rodeo. “But I do think it might make things infinitely easier for us if Dylan was cooling his heels in a cell for a while.”
“War…”
“Have I mentioned how insanely beautiful you are?”
“You…you are trying to distract me.”
Maybe. He was also telling her the truth. “I don’t know if I tell you enough, but I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Oh, God.” She gulped. “You’re going to do something incredibly dumb or dangerous, aren’t you? You’re trying to butter me up so I won’t completely lose my mind when you do said dumb or dangerous deed.” Once more, the wind blew her hair. “Not going to happen. I will lose my mind if you get in trouble. I don’t want you getting locked up for me. Dylan isn’t worth it, understand? Keep that iron-clad control of yours around him.”
Dylan wasn’t worth jack. But she was worth everything. “I will keep my control.” He would be perfectly in control. It was Dylan who wouldn’t be. “Don’t worry.”
Rose winced. “I am worried. Very worried.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “Being worried…does that mean you forgive me for working with the cops?”
Her body leaned into his. “Did you ask for my forgiveness?”
Another kiss. She tasted delicious. But he forced his head to lift. “Will you forgive me?”
Her hands still pressed to his chest. Her mouth was so close. He should kiss her again. He should—
“No. I will absolutely not forgive you, but if you don’t do something dangerous and crazy with Dylan, we’ll talk. Revisit that whole forgiveness idea.” A firm nod. “Time to go.”
Cute. But no deal. He was going to absolutely do something dangerous and crazy to Dylan. The bastard deserved it.
I should have kicked his ass when I first got the picture of him putting his mouth on her.
The way War saw it, he was just taking care of unfinished business.
Chapter Thirteen
As always, the news station was a buzz of activity. War had been to the station before when he’d come by to pick up Rose, so several of the people there—including a security guard munching on a donut—gave him a friendly wave.
Rose had vanished into a closed-door meeting with the station manager. War was using the time he had to do a little recon work. And the best way to do recon work?
With delicious donuts.
“Cordell, nice to see you,” he greeted the guard near the front desk. “Tell me those don’t have lemon inside. I’m not a filling guy.”
“Only pure glazed deliciousness.” Cordell lifted the box toward War.
“Don’t mind if I do.” He helped himself. While he was munching, he casually swept his gaze over the sign-in log. “Gary Strom…” He drew out the name. “Isn’t that the creepy PI who takes pics of cheating spouses? What’s he doing coming here?”
“Dude is creepy.” Cordell nodded. “But he’s tight with Dylan. Got to always let him in when he comes. Standing orders.”
Interested now, War swallowed down the last of his donut. “Just how far back do those two go?” Because he’d thought Dylan had just hired Gary for recent work.
“Since before I started here. That was about a year and a half ago. Dylan gave me those orders on day one.”
Good to know. “Any problems at the station lately? Anyone causing trouble? Trying to get inside when he or she shouldn’t?”
Cordell’s face scrunched as he seemed to think about it. “Not really. It’s been pretty quiet. Our biggest drama was Rose being suspected of murder.”
“She didn’t kill anyone.” A too-fast retort.
“Of course, she didn’t. It’s Rose. Everyone loves her. She’s not like those other arrogant pricks who snap orders all the time. Rose is the real deal. What you see is what you get with her.”
He leaned closer to Cordell. “Do me a favor?” He slid cash across the counter. “Make sure you keep an extra watch on Rose.”
“Don’t need money to do that.” Cordell slid the money right back toward him. “And just what should I be watching for?”
“Some bastard paying too much attention to her.”
The nearby doors swung open. Dylan strode across the lobby.
“There’s the bastard who does that,” Cordell told him softly.
And Dylan was just the bastard War had been waiting to see. Before Dylan could rush by and escape into the production area, War stepped into his path.
Dylan pulled up short, then immediately moved to the right.
So did War.
Dylan took a step to the left—
As did War. He smiled. I can do this all day. Let’s dance, motherfucker.
“You’re in my damn way!”
“Am I?” War feigned shock. “Maybe then…if you want me out of your way, you should do something like…I don’t know…kiss my girlfriend—when she has zero interest in you—and get your sleazy friend to photograph you. Then you can send the photo to me because—”
“Not my fault you’re a jealous prick!” Dylan fired back. “Controlling and dangerous. And a killer!”
War let his eyebrows rise.
“How many lives did you take while you were a SEAL? How many times did you get sent out because you were the one who seemed to thrive on death?” Dylan’s eyes were practically shining as he loudly threw out the charges.
War heard a door open behind him. The door that led back to production. But he didn’t take his gaze off Dylan to see who’d just entered the lobby.