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a door marked “Authorized Personnel ONLY” and me in the same building, sooner or later I’ll try to jimmy its lock to discover what’s so special about it.
“You can keep her here,” Curran said. “We’ll look after her.”
“Thank you for the offer. I honestly appreciate it. But things are hunting her. She’ll be safe in the vault and I don’t want to be responsible for any deaths.”
He sighed. “You do realize that you just insulted me, right?”
“How so?”
“You implied that I can’t protect her or my people.”
I looked at him. “That’s not at all what I meant.”
“Apologize and I’ll let it go.”
I kept my hands firmly on the iron rail before me. Grabbing the weight bar and walloping the Beast Lord upside the head wouldn’t be the best diplomatic move.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.” There. I was civil. It almost killed me.
“Apology accepted.”
“Will there be anything else?”Your Arrogance.
“No.” He picked up an enormous dumbbell and began to curl, working his biceps.
I turned to leave and stopped. He was in a good mood. Relaxed. He didn’t wig out at me. Now was as good a time as any. “Myong…”
A low warning growl reverberated in his throat. “I said later.”
Technically it was later. “I think she loves him very much.”
He snarled. “You forget yourself! Drop it.”
“She’s very passive and she’s terrified of you. It took a great deal of courage for her to come and see me.”
He tossed the dumbbell aside. It went flying and hit with a loud thud, leaving a dent in the pavement of the roof. Curran strode toward me, eyes blazing. “If I let her go, I’ll need a replacement. Want to volunteer for the job?”
He looked like he wouldn’t be taking no for an answer. I swiped Slayer from its sheath and backed away from the edge of the roof. “And be girlfriend number twenty-three soon to be dumped in favor of girlfriend number twenty-four who has slightly bigger boobs? I don’t think so.”
He kept coming. “Oh yeah?”